Tokyo: The Nikkei Japanese index ended Thursday’s trading with a rise, driven by optimism about the growth of AI-based cloud business in the US, which reflected positively in the performance of the heavily weighted SoftBank group’s shares in the index.

According to Qatar News Agency, the Nikkei rose by 1.22 percent to close at 44,372.5 points, after touching a record intraday high of 44,396.95 points, up 1.3 percent. Meanwhile, the broader Topix index saw a slight increase of 0.22 percent, reaching 3,147.76 points.

SoftBank led the market gains, with its stock jumping 9.98 percent. Advantest, the manufacturer of semiconductor testing equipment, saw its share price climb 4.38 percent. Shares of Fujikura, a cable-making company regarded as an indicator of global data-centre investment volumes, increased by 2.64 percent.

On the other hand, financials underperformed: the banks sector index fell by 1.36 percent, and the insurance sector by 1.11 percent, making them the weakest among the 33 sub-sectors listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.