While the Nikkei Average is set to rise sharply in 2026, some stocks are emerging whose gains fail to outpace profits during the upswing, drawing investor attention to the performance of individual stocks.
As the Nikkei Average is reported to be performing exceptionally well, views are emerging over the market’s overheated conditions and whether it represents a bubble. While the rise in stock prices is said to be supported by tangible increases in earnings and assets, some caution is being voiced over the risk of short-term overheating.
Among the factors behind the rise, analysts point to improving fundamentals around the time stock prices reached major milestones, with earnings growth and improvements in asset values said to have contributed to the rise in share prices. Views have also been expressed that the shift from a deflationary to an inflationary economy has had an impact, in addition to expectations for a growth strategy.
The analysis discusses the concentration of semiconductor demand resulting from the ripple effects of the AI boom and the view that this is supporting the current phase of the Japanese stock market. The factors underlying the market’s overheating are presented as a combination of elements, including the perspective of a long-term investment strategy.
The article introduces analysis by Kubota Masayuki (窪田真之), Chief Strategist at the Rakuten Securities Economic Research Institute, as its central theme, reporting that attention is focusing on the performance of individual stocks during the upswing in share prices.