Japan’s Nikkei 225 Flying; Closes At 24-Year High

Japanese Nikkei 225 on Tuesday rose 1.7 percent to close at 22,937.60 at 3 p.m. in Tokyo. The highest since 1992.

In the last 25 trading sessions, the index has climbed 23 points. Indicating the renewed interest in the Japanese stock market since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won the October 22 snap election.

So far the index has gained 20 percent this year with Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank, Tokyo Electron, Fanuc, and Kyocera are providing the highest boosts.

The weak Yen continued to bolster exports and support corporate earnings.

“The biggest reason behind Japanese stocks’ rally has been strong earnings results,” said Naoki Fujiwara, chief fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “There’s no cloud on the horizon of the global economy, and more investors are seeing that good earnings will continue through the coming quarters.”

Also, Topix Index jumped to the highest since February 2007. Electronics and machinery firms were some of the largest contributors to the rally after the yen plunged against the dollar.

Shares of Oil companies, including Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. and Inpex Corp., climbed the most after Saudi crackdown on corruption pushed global crude oil to its highest price in more than two years.

More than half (63%) of the over 1,100 companies included in the Topix posted year on year growth in earnings per share, at an average of 16 percent.

Growing new orders and rising exports are aiding increased business activity. Experts believe this would further create jobs and pressure consumer prices over time.

“The Nikkei 225 breaching the milestone is significant,” said Hiroyuki Nakai, chief strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute. “It could be a signal for an end of deflation in Japan.”