(Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average hit a record high on Thursday, surpassing its 1989 peak after a year-long rally driven by cheap valuations, corporate reforms and investment flows diverted from a battered Chinese stock market.
Here’s what analysts and investors say:
TSUTOMU YAMADA, SENIOR MARKET ANALYST, AU KABUCOM SECURITIES, TOKYO
“For us traders, this marks the arrival of a new era. It feels like the stock market is telling us that we’ve finally escaped from deflation and a new world has opened up.
“Compared with 34 years ago, the make-up of the stock market is totally different. Today, looking at the Nikkei average as a profitable security, it’s still quite easy to buy. 39,000 is just a waypoint.”
BART WAKABAYASHI, BRANCH MANAGER, STATE STREET, TOKYO
“We’re approaching bubble status here. But interestingly, our custody data isn’t showing aggressive buying of Japanese equities by real-money investors. I would tend to think that…
