World Shares Follow Wall Street Higher as Japan’s Nikkei Nears Record High

TV crew members film an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm as people pass by, in Tokyo on Feb. 16, 2024. Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo

BANGKOK—Shares advanced in Europe and Asia on Friday after stocks on Wall Street set a fresh record following mixed reports on the state of the U.S. economy.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index traded near a record high, 35 years after it peaked and then plunged with the collapse of Japan’s financial bubble.