Japan Stocks Expected to Shine in 2015

After a ho-hum performance for most of 2014, analysts believe that Japan’s Nikkei 225 will see better days in the year ahead.

“Japan has been an ‘ok’ investment based on local currency, [but] 2015 will be better, especially after the recent elections,” Peter Boardman, managing director at Tradewinds, told CNBC. Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party-led (LDP) coalition won snap elections by a landslide on December 14, maintaining a ‘supermajority’ in the lower house.

The Nikkei has risen 5.4 percent year to date, which pales in comparison to its 57 percent surge in 2013. The bulk of the gains came after the Bank of Japan shocked markets in late October by increasing its already massive asset-buying program; the market gained 15 percent since then as the yen tumbled 10 percent against the U.S. dollar.

CNBC

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