Japan stocks to advance in 2018, but restricted by trade worries - Reuters poll

According to the outcome of the latest Reuters poll, the Japanese equities are seen rising 4.5 percent this calendar year, extending the winning streak into a sixth consecutive year.

However, the upside is likely to remain capped by the ongoing worries over global trade war and downbeat Japanese fundamentals.

Key Findings:

“Medians from 18 analysts and fund managers polled by Reuters in the past week suggest stocks will rise again by year-end as investors take on more risk, spurred by a strong U.S. economy.

The Nikkei share average is expected to trade at 23,800 at year-end, up more than 7 percent from Thursday’s close of 22,201.82, the median forecast shows. It is seen trading at 24,000 for mid-2019 and 24,500 for end-2019.

Forecasts for end-2018 ranged from 21,000 to 26,000. They were 20,000 to 28,500 for mid-2019. In the previous poll in February, forecasts ranged from 20,000 to 28,000 for end-December 2018.

A recent Reuters poll showed the Bank Of Japan was likely to wait longer than initially expected to exit its super-easy stimulus, with almost half predicting that would not happen until 2020, or later, given sluggish inflation.”