FX.co ★ Japan’s Nikkei Rises for 6th Straight Session

The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.9% to above 66,900 on Monday, extending its winning streak to a sixth consecutive session, led by technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks. AI shares outperformed last week after Meta Platforms’ new Muse AI agent reignited optimism for the sector, offsetting earlier concerns from corporate leaders about mounting safety risks associated with AI development. This risk-on move came even as US Treasury yields rose to multi-decade highs amid expectations of further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

At the same time, oil prices advanced after President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran reiterated it would not ease its conditions for resuming traffic through the critical shipping chokepoint. Elsewhere, the Chinese government signaled it may permit certain companies to purchase Nvidia Corp.’s new RTX Pro 5500 chips. In Japan, notable technology gainers included SoftBank Group (up 3.6%), Advantest (3.2%) and Taiyo Yuden (3.5%).