Kamai补充道，本田汽车和日产汽车两大巨头合并的消息，再加上丰田汽车提高净资产收益率（ROE）的计划，“一些谨慎的机会主义投资者可能会在明年再度点燃‘买入日股’的趋势。”① The Nikkei 225 Index closed at 40,281.16 points on Friday, with a year-to-date increase of 20.37%, expected to rise significantly for the second consecutive year, potentially closing above 40,000 points for the first time by year-end; ② The rise in Japan's stock market was driven by the "Santa Claus rally" phenomenon, prospects of actions by corporate giants, merger news among automotive giants, and Toyota Motor's plan to increase ROE.
According to the Financial Associated Press on December 29 (Editor Zhao Hao), on Friday (December 27), the Japanese stock market benchmark—the Nikkei 225 Index rose by 1.26%, closing at 40,281.16 points, the highest level since July of this year.
Takeo Kamai, the executive service director at Crédit Lyonnais in Tokyo, commented that the market was influenced by the "Santa Claus rally" phenomenon and was boosted by the outlook that "Japanese corporate giants will take actions more aligned with investor interests."
Kamai added that the merger news between two major giants, Honda Motor and Nissan Motor, coupled with Toyota Motor's plan to increase net asset return (ROE), suggests that "some cautious opportunistic investors may reignite the trend of 'Buying Japanese Stocks' next year."
Considering that the market will be closed next Tuesday, there is only one trading day left for the Japanese stock market in 2024. Year-to-date, the Nikkei 225 Index has risen 20.37% and is expected to achieve significant gains for the second consecutive year.
As of the time of writing, among the major global stock markets, the annual increase of the Nikkei Index outperformed the German DAX30 Index and the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average, but lagged behind the S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index.
From a longitudinal perspective, the Nikkei 225 Index will likely close above 40,000 points for the first time at year-end; prior to this year, the historical peak of this index was slightly below 39,000 points, and it recorded this figure of 0.0389 million points 35 years ago.
In the 1980s, the Japanese stock market kept climbing, reaching its peak in 1989. However, starting in 1990, with the bursting of the economic bubble, the stock market began to plummet and dropped below 7,000 points at one point in 2008.
Until 2012, the Abe government launched "Abenomics," and the following year, the then-governor of the Bank of Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda, promoted a large-scale monetary stimulus policy, which marked the beginning of a more than ten-year revival journey for the Japanese stock market.
In 2024, driven by company stock buybacks, aggressive funds, and retail investors, the Nikkei 225 Index finally broke through the levels of the bubble era. When the Nikkei hit a new high in July, the Tokyo Stock Price Index also surpassed the peak of the bubble era.
At the beginning of the year, Financial Associated Press mentioned that the Japanese stock market "will usher in a major policy activation year in 2024"—the new NISA has lowered investment tax rates; it requires listed companies to manage their Market Cap, reduce financial reporting pressure, and will extend trading hours starting in November.
Meanwhile, the depreciation of the yen has increased export attractiveness, leading to record high corporate profits in the second and third quarters. Additionally, "stock god" Warren Buffett's increased bets have significantly boosted market sentiment.
