The strong earnings suggest the rally that’s pushed major share indexes toward record highs has more room to run. Overseas investors from BlackRock Inc to Robeco Institutional Asset Management and Warren Buffett have voiced bullishness toward Japanese stocks.
Japanese companies have logged record quarterly profits in the three months that ended in December, underpinning the Nikkei 225’s advance to near a historic peak.
Net income at Topix 500 companies rose 46% from year earlier to a record ¥13.9 trillion (US$93 billion) in the October-December quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Excluding Softbank Group Corp, whose earnings are volatile due to its heavy investment in global tech companies, profits still rose 25%.
