Nikkei 225 likely to remain depressed this year amid coronavirus crisis – Reuters poll

According to a Reuters poll of strategists, Japanese equity markets is likely to remain well below the levels seen before the coronavirus crisis at least until the turn of this year.

Key quotes

“The median estimate of 23 analysts and fund managers polled May 12-26 put the Nikkei benchmark at 21,000 at the end of 2020.

The median forecast in the May poll keeps the index at 21,000 through to the end of June next year before it rises to 22,050 by the end of 2021. That is still well below a peak of 24,116 before the pandemic.

The uncertainty generated by the pandemic resulted in a wide range of 2020 end-year forecasts, from 16,000 to 28,000.”

At the time of writing, the Nikkei 225 index is almost up 2% near 21,900 levels, as investors cheer global stimulus measures.