Japan¡¯s key 225-issue Nikkei stock average ended nearly unchanged Wednesday after briefly rising above 66,000 for the first time.

The index of 225 major issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange¡¯s top-tier Prime section closed up 3.32 points from the previous day at 64,999.41.

At 9:06 a.m., the index hit a high of 66,428.81, up 1,432.72 points?¡ª or 2.20%?¡ª from Tuesday, supported by overnight gains in U.S. technology stocks.

In the U.S. market on Tuesday, semiconductor-related stocks attracted purchases, with Micron Technology surging on the back of strong demand for memory chips used at artificial intelligence data centers.

Semiconductor and electronic component-related stocks drew purchases in the Tokyo market as well on Wednesday.

After the initial wave of buying ran its course, however, profit-taking selling emerged, forcing the Nikkei to trim its gains, market sources said.