It's pick-a-number time for Japanese stock bulls after the Nikkei 225 average surged to its highest close since 1992 on Tuesday — even though the index slightly receded 0.1 percent to close at 22,913.82 on Wednesday.
Okasan Securities Co. sees 25,000 by March 2019. Martin Malone, a strategist at Mint Partners in London, says 26,000 in the medium term, while Nikko Asset Management Co. says there's a very good chance of 30,000 in two years. For Andrew Clarke, who says people laughed at him in late August when he first predicted 25,000, this is starting to feel like vindication.
"People thought I was deranged," said Clarke, director of trading at Mirabaud Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong. The gauge was trading lower than 20,000 when he first made his prediction. "Maybe I should change to 75,000 by 2020," he joked.