Nikkei index rises over 2% to above 52,000 for 1st time on tech shares

The Nikkei stock index briefly rose over 2 percent Friday morning to above the 52,000 line for the first time, boosted by strong tech shares following robust earnings of some in the sector in the United States overnight.At 9:50 a.m., the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average was up 1,065.84 points from Thursday at 52,391.45, hitting a record intraday high.The Nikkei index extended gains to more than 1,000 points, as heavyweight semiconductor firms and companies related to artificial intelligence got a boost from upbeat earnings from U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. and tech firm Apple Inc.A w…READ FULL ARTICLE