Equities cheer eludes Japan

Around the globe investors are smiling as equity markets rally. Yet in Japan, cheer has remained elusive, and Wednesday was no exception.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Average has risen 9.2 per cent since the start of the year, far less than the 20 per cent gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US, the 25 per cent for European stocks or the 22 per cent for the FTSE 100 in the UK.