The Nikkei 225 Index rallied 1.1% to above 41,600 while the broader Topix Index jumped 1.5% to 2,970 on Thursday, with the latter reaching all-time highs as the recently announced trade deal with the US and Japan continued to support market momentum. Japan now faces a 15% tariff on its exports to the US, lower than the 25% levy that Trump threatened in a letter earlier this month. Global sentiment improved further on reports of progress in US-EU trade talks. On the domestic front, data showed that Japan’s private sector growth held steady in July, with continued strength in services offsetting a downturn in manufacturing. Gains were led by industrial and financial stocks, including Mitsubishi Heavy (+4.4%), Fujikura (+2.9%), Mitsubishi UFJ (+2.7%), Mizuho Financial (+3%), and Sumitomo Mitsui (+3.3%).