| Asian stocks ended mixed in cautious trade on Friday as concerns about a U.S. government shutdown and potential federal job cuts offset excitement around AI as well as expectations of further interest-rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Japanese markets soared as tech momentum showed no sign of fading and investors awaited a key ruling party vote that will decide the country's next Prime Minister.
The Nikkei average jumped 1.85 percent to close at a record high of 45,769.50 while the broader Topix index settled 1.35 percent higher at 3,129.17.
Hitachi shares surged 10.3 percent after the conglomerate announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI to build AI infrastructure and expand data centers globally.
Other tech firms followed suit, with Renesas Electronics climbing 7.3 percent and SoftBank Group rising 3.6 percent. |