That 26-Year High in Japan Stocks Is Really 0.03% Gain in Decade

(Bloomberg) -- Not everyone was celebrating wildly when Japan’s Topix index closed at its highest level since 1991.

The benchmark stock gauge rose 0.2 percent on Wednesday, surpassing its previous high from February 2007 to reach the latest peak in a rally that has Tokyo bulls salivating. But Jonathan Allum, who’s been watching the Asian country’s equities for years, put the milestone into perspective.

“If you bought Topix at the closing price on Feb. 26, 2007, you will have made a capital gain of 0.03% over the following 10 and 1/2 years,” Allum, a strategist at SMBC Nikko Capital Markets Ltd. in London, wrote in a note to clients.

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