Nikkei Index Retreats From Its 30-year High But Ends The Year With 16% Gains

The Japanese Nikkei Index closed lower on the last trading day of this year, retreating from its highest level in more than thirty years, which it reached in the previous session as investors took profits, but recorded gains for the second year in a row.

The index fell 0.45% to 27,444.17 points today, Wednesday, after ending the previous session at its highest level since August 16, 1990.

The broader Topix index fell 0.8% to 1,804.68 points, down from the highest level since October 2018, which it hit on Tuesday.

As for annual performance, Nikkei rose by 16% compared to an 18.2% rise in 2019. The index rose by 18.4% in the fourth quarter of the year, registering the highest quarterly increase since the three months ending in March 2013.

The Topix index rose 4.8% in 2020, compared to an increase of more than 15.2% in the previous year.

Japanese financial markets will close on Thursday and reopen on Monday, January 4th.

29 out of 33 sectoral sub-indices fell on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The worst performing stocks among the 30 largest companies on the Topix index were Honda Motor, which fell 1.78%, and Shin-Etsu Chemical, which fell 1.66%.

Renova, a renewable energy developer, rose 4.9%, hitting a new record, as it benefited from growing investor expectations on clean energy.