Japan's Nikkei 225 hit a record high on Thursday as robust corporate profitability and steps aimed at boosting investor returns fuel a blistering rally in Japanese equities this year.
The Nikkei 225 hit 38,924.88, surpassing the previous record high of 38,915.87 reached in 1989.
Japan Inc's solid third-quarter corporate earnings have prompted Bank of America equity strategists to upgrade their 2024 year-end forecasts for the Nikkei 225 to 41,000 from 38,500.
They raised their forecasts for the Topix to 2,850 from 2,715.
The rally has also been supported by a weaker yen, which has shed about 6% against the dollar so far this year and seems on track to drop to to 33-year lows touched late last year.
Persons:
outperformers
Organizations:
Nikkei, Bank of
Locations:
Asia, Japan