Japanese markets reached new highs as investors pondered over the prospect of U.S. interest-rate cuts.
The Nikkei average jumped 0.94 percent to 42,224.02, breaking past 42,000 points for the first time ever. The broader Topix index settled 0.69 percent higher at 2,929.17.
Fast Retailing rose 2.3 percent after the owner of clothing brand Uniqlo raised its forecast for what would be its third consecutive year of record-high profits. Sony surged 3.6 percent and Sumco soared 5.9 percent.
The value of core machine orders in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 3.2 percent on month in May, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - coming in at 857.8 billion yen.
On a yearly basis, orders jumped 10.8 percent - exceeding expectations for 7.2 percent and up sharply from 0.7 percent in the previous month.
For the second quarter of 2024, core machine orders are seen lower by 1.6 percent on quarter and 2.8 percent on year at 2,581.0 billion yen.
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