Looking ahead, strong fundamentals may support the Japanese economy and the developed market. Japan is experiencing earnings growth driven by internal factors like growing private capital expenditure and domestic consumption, Yunyoung Lee, a portfolio manager for Janus Henderson Investors, said on Seeking Alpha.
The Bank of Japan will also likely maintain its loose monetary polices for longer, as compared to the U.S. Federal Reserve and E.U.’s European Central Bank, which have taken steps to wind down quantitative easing.
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Moreover, Lee argued that Japanese shareholders may benefit from increased dividend payments and share buybacks as corporate reforms are being boosted by increasingly large cash hoards.
“Overall, we think Japanese equities could deliver strong corporate earnings growth this year,” Lee said.
For more information on the Japanese markets, visit our Japan category.