Nikkei extends winning streak to 13th day on Wall Street's solid lead, yen's retreat

TOKYO, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The benchmark Nikkei stock index extended its winning streak to a 13th straight day on Thursday as investors took a positive cue from record advances on Wall Street overnight and the yen retreating against the U.S. dollar.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 85.47 points, or 0.40 percent, from Wednesday to close the day at 21,448.52, marking its highest close since October 1996.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 5.40 points, or 0.31 percent, to finish at 1,730.04.

The market's recent run of closing highs hasn't been seen here in about 30 years.