TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose to an intraday peak in a choppy session on Wednesday as financial shares outperformed and investors snapped up stocks to get in on the latest rally.

After staying in negative territory for much of the afternoon session, buying broadened toward the end of trading to spur the Nikkei to a record high of 41,889.16 points.

The benchmark index closed up 0.61% at an all-time closing high of 41,831.99, while the broader Topix finished 0.47% higher at a record closing peak of 2909.20.

Big-name stocks gained to give the Nikkei a lift, with Uniqlo parent firm Fast Retailing up 1.4% and AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group climbing 0.8%.

Technology and semiconductor shares, which saw a selloff in early trading after rallying on Tuesday, narrowed their losses or flipped into positive territory. Chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron reversed morning losses to end up 1.1%. “For now, the technicals are highly constructive with investors buying the break-out,” said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

Japan’s main stock indexes have marched to all-time highs over the last two weeks, and analysts say company earnings due in the latter half of July could drive Japanese equities higher.