Nikkei Continues to Advance Through Optimism Economic Recovery

The Japanese stock market continued its advance on Tuesday. The hope that the vaccination program, which begins this week in Japan, will fuel the economic recovery and fuel investor optimism.

Also in Hong Kong, where investors returned after the long holiday period around the Chinese New Year, the stock market improved considerably due to the positive prospects of the corona crisis recovery.

The Nikkei in Tokyo finished 1.3 percent higher at 30,467.75 points. The Japanese main index already gained almost 2 percent the day before, returning above the psychological threshold of 30,000 points for the first time since August 1990. The Nikkei were still a long way from the high of nearly 39,000 points in December 1989.

Commenting on the steep price gains, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the recent equity rally reflected the global outlook for economic recovery. Kuroda thus rejected the criticism that the central bank, with its extensive stimulus policy, is creating a new bubble in the stock market.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 1.4 percent in the meantime. In particular, cinema companies were popular due to a strong recovery in visitors’ number during the extended holiday period in China.

IMAX China added 40 percent and Alibaba Pictures was worth 30 percent more. Oil producers also gained ground due to the recent rise in oil prices. PetroChina, the largest Chinese oil producer, was up 10 percent. In Shanghai, the stock exchange was still closed, and trading will not resume until Thursday.