Japanese shares on Friday hovered near a 29-year high, following strong cues from global equities, as investors hoped a gridlock in US Congress during a possible Joe Biden presidency would be able to halt major policy changes. The benchmark Nikkei share average rose 1.09% to 24,367.35 by the midday break, just a fraction below 24,448.07, a level unseen since November 1991. Earlier in the session, the index touched its highest since October 2018. The broader Topix gained 0.76% to 1,662.46. All but two of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded higher, with iron and steel, shippers and machineries leading the gains.