Nikkei Hits 5-Year High; Seoul’s Kospi Beats Record

Tokyo and Seoul shares rose Monday, but many markets in Asia, as well as Canada, the United States and most of Europe, remained closed for the Christmas holiday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index surged to its highest level in more than five years as investors bought into technology issues, retailers and textiles. The Nikkei rose 166.30 points, or 1%, to 16,107.67 -- its highest close since October 2000.

Gainers included Internet service providers Softbank, Yahoo Japan, textile company Toray Industries and Seven & I Holdings, which owns the 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan and the United States.

Before Monday’s session, the Nikkei had climbed nearly 40% this year in local currency terms as investors showed renewed optimism in the country’s economic recovery. But the Nikkei is still far below its all-time closing high of 38,915.87 set Dec. 29, 1989.

The plunge that followed in the early 1990s contributed to the economy’s nearly 15-year slump.

In early trading today, Japanese stocks dipped after lackluster unemployment figures undercut the benchmark index’s advance.

In Seoul, shares rose to a record high on gains by technology and telecom issues. South Korea’s composite index, or Kospi, added 8.04 points, or 0.6%, to 1,367.57.

In currency dealings, the dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen.