Wall Street stocks broke another record high as banks reacted favorably to the news the the Bank of Japan will drastically increase its stimulus package so that the country’s economy can get back on track after years of economic struggles and stagnation. This good news and the jump in stocks come days after the United States Federal Reserve started to wind down the package of incentives they had offered in the years after the financial crisis of 2008. Known as a sort of “Old Man of Asia” (just like the Ottoman Empire was known as the “Old Man of Europe” before it finally collapsed), the once strong Japanese economy has been stuck in a boom and bust cycle since the Fat Man and the Little Boy fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and dramatically ended the Second World War and Japan’s dreams of conquering Asia and carving out an empire for itself. Shifting from struggling to booming (often supported by the technology and automobile sectors), Japan has frequently made investors nervous and so they tended to stay away.
Now, however, banks and businesses around the country are reacting in a strong positive manner to the news the the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is extending and strengthening its stimulus package and the results can be seen. The S&P 500 came within 0.1 percent of its record high after the news and other markets were similarly affected. In total, the S&P 500 recorded a total of 123 new 52-week highs and only 2 new lows. The Nasdaq Composite had a similar record with 209 recorded new 52-week highs and only 27 new lows. These records point to a strengthening of both markets in the United States as well as around the world and in Asia. People believe that the markets are going to continue to rise and that records are going to continue to be broken, especially when combined with the fact that the dollar is also rising in strength.
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