Japan's Main Stock Index Crushed Every Expert Prediction This Year

Japan's Nikkei 225 — a basket of 225 major company shares — closed at 70,062 on June 30, 2026. That's 62% above the 43,000 level analysts predicted back in August 2025. By August 11 it was 67,112, still 47% above forecasts. Even its lowest point in the past year, 41,835, nearly matched what experts expected.