BOJ ETFs buying seen lifting Nikkei 225 to mid-1990s high –FT

The Financial Times (FT) ran a story today, citing that BOJ’s ETF investments are expected to push the Nikkei 225 index above 21k mark by 2017-end.

The FT further reports, in the past two weeks alone, the BOJ has broken two of its own records to reassert its reputation as the ETF maestro.

Analysts at Nomura noted, “The Nikkei 225 could end next year above 21,000 for the first time since the mid-1990s supported by the BoJ’s ETF purchases.”

Makoto Shiota, the head of ETF business promotion at Nomura explained, “The Bank of Japan had an indirect influence. By making purchases of ETFs when stock prices go down, the BoJ gives a sense of peace of mind to investors.”