Japan's benchmark index continues to rise to new highs, briefly rising above the record closing high reached at the height of the Japanese asset bubble in 1989.
The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) rose 1.7% to 38,924.88 briefly on Thursday morning, surpassing the record closing high of 38,915.87 set on December 29, 1989. The index was recently up 1.6% to 38,868.56, compared with the intraday trading session. The record high of 38,957.44, also reached on the same day in 1989.
The benchmark index was up 14% year-to-date through Wednesday, after rising 28% in 2023, driven by a return to modest inflation, improvements in corporate governance and a weaker yen, which is boosting the value of corporate profits earned abroad in 2020. Yen Conditions.
In March last year, the Tokyo Stock Exchange called on listed companies to improve returns on shareholders' capital and correct discounts reflected in their share prices, which prompted a number of companies to increase dividends and buy back shares. This move adds to the exchange's efforts in recent years to bring more independent directors to company boards in an attempt to improve their oversight of management.
Japan's stock market, marred by years of contraction and slow growth, has lagged other markets over the past decades. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen more than 14 times since the end of 1989.
However, the Japanese market, along with the Indian market, has recently attracted increasing amounts of global capital, providing an attractive alternative to the Chinese market mired in recession due to the country's real estate sector woes and the regulatory crackdown on the technology industry.
