Bloomberg – A rally in Japanese stocks that faltered last month is set to resume amid signs of growth in the world’s second-largest economy and as the central bank prepares to raise interest rates from near zero, hedge fund managers say.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 2.7 percent in February, the first decline in nine months. The measure, which climbed 88 percent in 2002-2005, added 2.7 percent this month.
“We’ve been in a bull market in the past three years,” said Yashwant Bajaj, who helps oversee the $125 million Hachiman Japan Fund. “Most of the structural views that have made us positive are still in place.”
His fund, denominated in dollars, climbed 71 percent in the year through Feb. 28, more than the Nikkei’s 25 percent gain in dollar terms, according to Bloomberg data. Bajaj was part of a five-member panel that yesterday spoke to investors gathered in Hong Kong for a hedge fund conference.
