Japan's Nikkei share average on Thursday surged past a record high scaled in December 1989, as chip-related stocks rallied after U.S. chipmaker Nvidia's outlook beat market expectations.
The index was up 1.96% to 39,014.19 by 0349 GMT.
"The market was strong. Investors were waiting for the outlook of Nvidia," said Jun Morita, general manager of the research department at Chibagin Asset Management.
Tokyo Electron (8035.T) jumped 5.38% to give the biggest boost to the Nikkei. The chip-making equipment maker rose 44% so far this year, while chip-testing equipment maker Advantest (6857.T) surged 6.65.
Another chip-related Screen Holdings (7735.T) is up nearly 10% in the current session, while tech-start up investor SoftBank Group (9984.T) rose 5.4%.
