The Nikkei 225 rebounded on Thursday as investors cheered the positive economic data from Japan. The index rose by over 1% and is trading at ¥27,778, which is slightly above this week’s low at ¥27,250. Still, the index is about 10% below the highest level in 2021.
The Nikkei 225 index has been in under pressure in the past few months as investors worry about the changing tone by central bankers. In the United States, the Federal Reserve has hinted that it will start hiking interest rates this year. The same trend is happening in other central banks. Early this week, the Bank of Japan also hinted that it was thinking about tightening as inflation rises.
On Wednesday, data by the BOJ showed that more foreign investors are selling Japanese stocks. In December, foreigners sold Japanese stocks worth over ¥11 billion. That was a sharp decline after these investors bought stocks worth over ¥780 billion.
Additional data showed that the country’s exports rose by over 17.5% in December while imports rose by about 41%. As a result, Japan’s trade deficit narrowed from about ¥955 billion in November to ¥582 billion.
