Reuters Poll: Nikkei to recover to near 30-year high on corporate outlook, vaccines

Reuters unveiled the optimistic outcome of the 22 analysts’ and fund managers’ survey for the August 11-24 period concerning Japanese shares.

The poll showed, “Japanese shares are expected to recover from an eight-month low marked on Friday to near a 30-year high by the end of this year, supported by a robust corporate outlook and the rollout of coronavirus vaccines.”

Additional quotes (from Reuters)

The median estimate in the Aug. 11-24 poll of 22 analysts and fund managers forecast the benchmark Nikkei index would gain 6.2% from Tuesday’s close of 27,732.1 to reach 29,450 by the end of December. This is lower than a forecast of 31,000 in the previous poll in May.

The Nikkei trades at 14.39 times expected earnings, compared with nearly 28 times in early February, when the index was rallying toward its 30-year high on Feb. 16.

Since then it has lost momentum on growing concerns of an economic slowdown, as Japan was lagging behind other developed nations in coronavirus vaccine rollouts.

Daily infections surged to a record level, driven by the Delta variant, after Tokyo held the 2020 Olympics that started on July 23.

The country is still battling its worst wave of infections and the situation could deteriorate as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics kicked off on Tuesday.

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