The Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.6% to above 66,000 on Thursday after Japan’s market reopened from an extended holiday. Technology and artificial intelligence shares led the advance as investors caught up with gains among global peers, where Meta’s Muse personal AI agent had renewed interest in the sector and lifted demand for AI infrastructure stocks. Kioxia Holdings, Ibiden Co, Advantest, SoftBank Group and Tokyo Electron all gained. Investors remained cautious, however, after strong US economic data and higher oil prices increased inflation concerns, strengthened expectations for additional Federal Reserve rate hikes, and pushed the dollar and Treasury yields higher. Markets were also watching US-China talks that could produce new trade agreements.