Nikkei briefly breaches 38,000 for the first time since 1990 as it rallies 3%, nears all-time high

Japan’s Nikkei 225 briefly crossed the 38,000 mark for the first time since the asset bubble burst in 1990 as it rallied about 3% and pushed 34-year highs.

However, it was unable to sustain its run above 38,000 points, falling minutes before its close to end at 37,963.97, while the Topix climbed 2.12% to 2,612.03, also at a 34-year high.

Other Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose as more markets return to trade from the Lunar New Year holiday, including South Korea and Singapore.

Japan’s corporate goods price index rose 0.2% in January, beating the 0.1% expected by economists polled by Reuters. That compares with the revised 0.2% growth rate for December.

South Korea’s Kospi was up 1.12% as it returned to trade and closed at 2,649.64, with the small-cap Kosdaq rising 2.25% to finish at 845.15.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.15% to 7,603.6, marking a third straight day of losses.

Markets in China are closed for the week, due to the Lunar New Year holiday. Hong Kong is closed Tuesday, but is set to resume trading Wednesday.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a new high on Monday as investors awaited fresh inflation and earnings data. The 30-stock index advanced 0.33% to settle at 38,797.38.

In contrast, the S&P 500 inched lower by 0.09%, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.3%.

— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.