Japan’s stock market, long-regarded as a bellwether for Asia’s economic health, reached a significant milestone in early 2024. The Nikkei 225, a benchmark index that gauges the performance of 225 blue-chip companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, soared again to all-time highs. It ended the week up 5.63% at 40,888.43 – up 22.19% year-to-date – after briefly crossing the 41,000 threshold on Friday. This remarkable achievement comes on the heels of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, where it elected to maintain its interest rate forecast.
Japanese stocks were also boosted by dovish signals from the Bank of Japan through Japan’s headline inflation rate for February came in at 2.8%, climbing from the 2.2% observed in February.
While the central bank has increased interest rates for the first time in 17 years and concluded its yield curve control program, Governor Kazuo Ueda announced that the monetary conditions will likely stay largely supportive in the near future due to the uncertainty surrounding the Japanese economy.
JPMorgan Japan Small Cap Growth & Income (LONJSGI), targets Japan income without compromising on Japanese growth opportunities. This Japan income investing opportunity gives investors access to a diverse and fast growing sector managed by local managers.
