Japan’s Market Surges, but Analysts Worry of Looming Trouble -
By JONATHAN SOBLEJUNE 2, 2017
TOKYO — Japan’s main stock index surged to an 18-month high on Friday, breaking the 20,000 level for the first time since late 2015.
Buoyed by robust global demand, earnings at publicly traded Japanese companies during the most recent fiscal
year, which ended in March, rose to their highest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis.
A strong American economy has also pushed global markets higher, and any sign
that the pace of growth in the United States was slowing could undercut those advances.
But analysts have raised concerns that the rally could soon lose steam, arguing
that company earnings have been bolstered by tax cuts rather than improved bottom lines.
The benchmark Nikkei average gained 1.6 percent on Friday to close at 20,177, the first time it topped the symbolic 20,000 mark since December 2015.
Shares have surged on the back of stronger economic growth in Japan and in the United States, as well as improved corporate profits.