The main Japanese stock exchange, the Nikkei 225, roared to another record point total on February 22, 2024. Indeed, the Nikkei 225 hit an all-time high of 39,156.97 before closing slightly below that total on the same day. Japan’s stock market last reached an all-time high above 38,000 points in December 1989. At that time, Japan looked like it was on a trajectory to become the world’s foremost economic power. However, cracks in its economic foundation began to show through the 1990s.
What has been behind the terrific momentum investors have seen on the Japanese market in late 2023 and early 2024?
First, the Bank of Japan is noteworthy for taking a different approach compared to its peers across the developed world. Japan’s inflation rate hit a 41-year high in 2023, but its central bank continued to show tremendous poise in the face of these changes. That patience has been rewarded in some key areas as inflation has drawn down.
Japan’s stock market has been powered by banking, electronics, and consumer stocks in 2023 and 2024. Strong earnings reports and positive investor sentiment has played a role in giving the Japanese stock market a boost it has not seen in over three decades. Those impressive corporate earnings have inspired Bank of America to bolster its 2024 year-end forecast for the Nikkei 225. BoA now projects the Nikkei 225 to finish the year between 38,500 and 41,000.
