After 34 Years, Japan’s Nikkei Closes Intraday Trading Near Record High
A landmark in Japan’s comeback from a busted bubble that left the economy in the doldrums for decades, the benchmark stock average briefly traded above its all-time high closing set more than 34 years ago on Thursday.
An intraday trading session on Thursday morning saw the 225-share Nikkei Stock Average rise to 38924.88, surpassing the previous record closing of 38915.87 set on December 29, 1989.
Nevertheless, the Nikkei has not yet surpassed its all-time intraday high of 38957.44, which was established on the same day in 1989, as of late Thursday morning. One of the greatest stock and real estate booms in history occurred during that decade, and that trading day marked its end.
The corporate-governance reforms in Japan have inspired foreign investors, who are flooding into the country as China’s allure diminishes, fueling the milestone.
Starting in November, the Nikkei has been steadily rising on hopes that Japan has finally overcome its lengthy period of stagnant or declining prices and that its technology sector will reap the rewards of increased demand for AI on a worldwide scale. According to economists, investors have redirected their funds to Japan due to their pessimism about China.
According to long-time Morgan Stanley Asia strategist Jonathan Garner, firms in Japan are making better use of their assets, which is leading to rising wages and profits. Deflation is being exited by working in a virtuous cycle upwards, he said. “In contrast, China is experiencing the polar opposite.”
It “is causing some very large reallocations within portfolios right now,” according to Garner, as a result of the Japanese and Chinese economies’ abrupt turnaround.
Thursday saw increases for the Nikkei as news spread that revenues for U.S. chipmaker Nvidia more than tripled in the latest quarter.
