Japanese shares track Wall Street gains

The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.99% to close at 45,494 and the broader Topix Index rose 0.49% to 3,163 on Monday, rebounding from the prior session’s losses and mirroring Wall Street’s rally that lifted US benchmarks to new record highs.

The advance followed the US Federal Reserve’s widely expected quarter-point rate cut, its first since December, along with guidance for two more reductions this year.

At home, the Bank of Japan left its policy rate unchanged at 0.5% for a fifth straight meeting last week, as anticipated, while unanimously approving plans to start selling its ETF and J-REIT holdings.

Technology stocks spearheaded gains, with Lasertec surging 10.4%, Advantest adding 3.2%, and Tokyo Electron up 3.9%.

Other heavyweights also rose, including Fujikura (2%), Mitsubishi UFJ (1.2%), and Fast Retailing (1.9%).