On Monday (March 4th), Japan's primary stock benchmark surged past the significant milestone of 40,000 points for the first time, marking a remarkable ascent fueled by corporate governance reform and attractive valuations.

The Nikkei share average (.N225) soared by 0.79% to reach 40,226.83 by midday, surpassing its previous intraday high of 39,990.23 achieved on Friday. The surge was propelled by a surge in technology shares, mirroring the rally seen in their U.S. counterparts.

Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, attributed the bullish trend to overseas investors, many of whom seem to be adopting a medium- to long-term investment perspective. He expressed confidence in the market's continued upward trajectory.

Japanese tech stocks received a significant boost from the ongoing artificial intelligence boom in U.S. stocks, which propelled the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs on Friday. Advantest (6857.T), a chip-testing equipment manufacturer with ties to U.S. artificial intelligence giant Nvidia (NVDA.O), surged by 3.9%, while Tokyo Electron (8035.T), a leading chip-making equipment giant, gained 2.7%.

Shin-Etsu Chemical (4063.T), known for manufacturing semiconductor silicon products, also saw a notable increase of 2.2%. Meanwhile, JSR Corp (4185.T), a key producer of photoresists utilized in chipmaking, surged by 4.4% following reports that state-backed fund Japan Investment Corp (JIC) plans to initiate a tender offer for its shares later this month.

In broader market movements, the Topix (.TOPX) index registered a modest increase of 0.16% to reach 2,713.79. Notable sector gainers included electric machinery (.IELEC.T), which rose by 1.2%, alongside pulp and paper firms (.IPAPR.T) and miners (.IMING.T), which climbed by 2.1% and 1.3% respectively, among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sectors.