Nikkei Surges Past 39,000... Breaking All-Time Highs with Unstoppable Momentum

Record Intraday High Broken from Bubble Economy Era
Reflecting Corporate Performance Improvement and Governance Reform

The Nikkei 225, Japan's representative stock market index, surpassed the 39,000 mark during afternoon trading on the 22nd, reaching an all-time high.

At around 12:32 PM, the Nikkei index recorded 39,029, up 1.96% from the previous close. After breaking the previous all-time closing high of 38,915 during the morning session, it also surpassed the intraday all-time high of 38,957 set during the bubble economy era in the afternoon.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The Japanese stock market has continued its rally recently, supported by improved corporate earnings fueled by the weak yen, expectations of escaping deflation (falling prices amid economic stagnation), and corporate governance reforms by the Japanese government. The Nikkei index's gain since the beginning of the year exceeds 16%. Additionally, the strong performance of Nvidia, a leading U.S. semiconductor company in artificial intelligence (AI), has positively influenced related stocks such as Tokyo Electron and SoftBank Group in the Tokyo market.

Expectations for further gains continue. Bank of America (BoA) raised its year-end forecast for the Nikkei index from 38,500 to 41,000. The forecast for the TOPIX index was also increased from 2,715 to 2,850. Earlier, Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that the annual net profits of major Japanese listed companies with fiscal years ending in March are expected to set record highs for the third consecutive year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.