TOKYO -- The Nikkei Stock Average fell about 3% this year to Thursday and the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Topix index has also fallen by roughly 1%. The stock market has remained at a standstill, probably as a rebound from historically high price rises in 2013. Some market players advocate a "Nikkei average of 20,000" in expectation of the buying of individual savings accounts, a program dubbed NISA, and the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), but I have a feeling that risks exist in that kind of optimism. We need to check the actual realities of the market using corporate earnings and investment indexes.
What has been on my mind since the beginning of this year is the fact that overseas media have adopted a cautious approach toward the global economy, especially the U.S., and the stock markets. The Economist magazine of the U.K. warned that even though the global economy is moving in a favorable direction six years on from the financial crisis, there are risks associated with market players' complacency toward the current state.