The Nikkei 225 continues to outperform its major Asia/Pacific counterparts, with the index surging 50% from its March low as it pushes back to pre-crisis levels.
Even though Japan enters its first recession since 2015, the injection of over ¥ 200 trillion in fiscal and monetary stimulus to support the pummelled economy continues to drive the Japanese benchmark index higher. With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announcing a further ¥117 trillion of stimulus on the 27th of May, while the Bank of Japan (BoJ) implementing a new ¥30 trillion small business lending facility, the cooperation between the government and central bank shows the determination to protect the local economy during a crisis, described by Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, "that goes beyond the scale of the Lehman shock".
