Hong Kong/New Delhi CNN —Japan’s stock market defied gloomy economic data to rally Friday, lifting broader Asian shares and ending the week on a buoyant note. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed above 38,000 points for the second day in a row, just a whisker off its historic peak reached in December 1989. “If anything, the window of opportunity created by the weak yen is encouraging international investors, as they suspect it will close soon,” he added. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asian shares excluding Japan closed more than 1% higher. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed at a record high of 5,029.73 Thursday as US stocks bounced back from steep losses earlier this week.

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Persons: ”, Neil Newman, Stephen Innes, Austan Goolsbee, Innes, Korea’s Organizations: Hong Kong / New Delhi CNN, Analysts, Japan, Dow, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, Fed, Chicago Fed Locations: Hong Kong / New Delhi, Tokyo, United Kingdom, Asia, Pacific, New York, China