Japanese Stocks Have Best Year Since 2013 on Corporate Profits
- Topix advanced 20 percent in local currency terms in 2017
- Nomura raises end-2018 targets citing global economic outlook
Tech Rebound Lifts Asian Equities Higher in 2017
Japan’s Topix index capped its best annual performance since 2013, though it ended the last trading day of the year lower as some investors adjusted their positions in thin trading before the New Year holidays.
Electronics makers were the heaviest drag on the benchmark Friday as the yen gained against the dollar for a second day. A gauge of bank shares rebounded from the steepest drop in two weeks after U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose overnight. Trading volume for shares in the Topix was about 43 percent below the 30-day average. The Topix gained 20 percent in 2017 and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 19 percent this year, the most since 2013, as global growth helped improve corporate earnings.