Consumer Confidence Up in Japan—EWJ Rises by 1.22%
By Surbhi JainNov. 20 2020, Updated 4:46 p.m. ET
Consumer confidence rises in Japan
Consumer confidence is growing in the land of the rising sun, according to a report released by the Cabinet Office in Japan. The Japanese equity-tracking iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) rose by 1.22% on the news as of July 9 close. At the same time, the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) recorded a 1.69% rise.
Japan has been outperforming
Japanese ADRs (American depository receipts) also rose on the news. The Japanese stock market has been outperforming all major developed markets so far this year, with the rally in Japanese equities being led by companies such as Sony (SNE), which has risen by 33.66% YTD (year-to-date), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU), which has risen by 24.05%, Honda Motor (HMC), which has risen by ~6.03%, and Toyota Motor (TM), which has risen by 2.83%.
After a bumpy 2014, Japanese equity is sailing free and clear so far this year, boosted by the Bank of Japan’s initiatives and the government’s three-pillared Abenomics.
Consumer confidence up—economic reforms working in Japan
In the month of June, consumer confidence rose to 41.7, up from 41.4 in May, as reported by the Cabinet Office in Japan on July 10.
You may want to read our exclusive analysis of Japan’s stock market rally in our series, Can Japan’s Stock Market Sustain Such Growth?
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