The Nikkei 225 crossed the 72,000-point threshold for the first time on Monday, rising 1.4% to 72,247.21 in early Tokyo trading and touching an all-time intraday high of 72,269.64. The broader Topix added 1.1% to 4,089.59. The move rippled unevenly across Asia: South Korea’s Kospi closed up 0.69% at a record 9,114.55, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.65% to 23,768.52 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.14% lower. Brent crude fell 1.4% to $79.42 a barrel, retreating from levels seen after the outbreak of hostilities in late February.

The advance was propelled by a fresh wave of enthusiasm for artificial-intelligence-linked equities. Japan’s SoftBank Group rose 1.87% and chip-equipment maker Tokyo Electron gained 3.24%; in Seoul, memory-chip producer SK Hynix surged 5.61%. The rally drew additional momentum from a Nikkei newspaper report that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government plans a public-private investment target of roughly ¥370 trillion ($2.29 trillion) in strategic sectors—including AI and semiconductors—by 2040. Wataru Akiyama, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities in Tokyo, said AI-related companies were “once again playing a leading role in driving the market,” while cautioning that vigilance over Middle East developments would persist.

Geopolitical sentiment shifted after Qatar and Pakistan, mediating peace talks between Washington and Tehran, reported “encouraging progress” and said negotiations would continue following a tense opening. High-level discussions in Switzerland concluded early Monday, with lower-level technical talks scheduled for the rest of the week. The apparent de-escalation eased oil-supply fears, even as Iran claimed the Strait of Hormuz was shut again over the weekend—an assertion the US contradicted, stating that traffic had continued. ING commodities strategists in London noted that moving toward a permanent deal would be challenging, with “very real risks of a flare-up in hostilities.”

Sectoral moves on the Topix reflected the dual drivers: nonferrous metals jumped 7.57%, electric appliances rose 2.08%, and glass and ceramics added 2.05%, while real estate slipped 1.07%. On the Nikkei, J.Front Retailing soared 16.24% after activist investor 3D Investment Partners disclosed a 5.10% stake; robot-maker Fanuc climbed 8.10%. The yen weakened to ¥161.68 per dollar, and the euro eased to $1.1454.

The next factual milestones are the release of the US personal consumption expenditures price index—the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge—on Thursday, and the continuation of technical-level US-Iran talks in Switzerland. Both will test whether the twin currents of AI-driven equity momentum and fragile geopolitical calm can hold.