The Tokyo Stock Exchange returned to first place in Asia

• The Japanese market ranks fourth worldwide

The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) returned to the first place in Asia, in terms of market capitalization, as significant funds left the Chinese stock market, heading for Japan and India, the Nihon publication announces Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), citing data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). They show that, at the end of last month, the total capitalization of shares listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, in dollars, exceeded that of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (China), ranking no. 1 in Asia for the first time since June 2020.

The capitalization of the Tokyo Stock Exchange is the fourth in the world, after those in New York (New York Stock Exchange), Nasdaq and the pan-European market Euronext. At the end of last month, the total market capitalization of stocks listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was $6.34 trillion, $296.7 billion higher than the Stock Exchange's market capitalization of $6.04 trillion from Shanghai, notes the cited source. When the Shanghai market surpassed the Tokyo Stock Exchange in July 2020, companies listed on the China Stock Exchange had a total market capitalization of about $6.03 trillion, compared to about $5.55 trillion on the TSE, according to the Japan Times.

At the end of January, India's National Stock Exchange rose to sixth place in the world, overtaking the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (seventh place) and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (eighth place) in terms of market capitalization.

For over a year - from the end of 2022 to January this year -, the capitalization of the Tokyo Stock Exchange increased by 18%, and that of the National Stock Exchange in India - by 34%, but the capitalization of the Shanghai Stock Exchange decreased by 10 %, according to the figures announced by the WFE.

Japanese companies are expected to grow again as the country emerges from long-term deflation (falling prices amid economic recession).

The Nikkei 225 index of the Japanese stock market fell by 0.3% yesterday, reaching 38,262.16 points. On February 16, the major index of the Tokyo market reached 38,487 points - the highest level in the last 34 years. Over the past year, the Nikkei 225 index has gained 41.2%.

Ayako Terada, a strategist at Nomura Securities, said as quoted by the Japan Times: "There is a sense of unease in China that is spreading among investors as problems in the real estate industry slow the economy and the country's government tightens controls against IT firms. It is increasingly difficult to invest in China because of geopolitical risks, including a rift between the United States and Beijing."