• After a period of recent growth, the Japanese Nikkei fell yesterday, along with other Asian market indices
• Wednesday started with a significant recovery for Japan, indicating the same may be in store for other Asian markets
• Pharmaceutical companies are among the biggest winners in Japan for the first two months of 2019

Wednesday begins on a 0.5% uptick for the Nikkei 225 index after a disappointing Tuesday. Although not yet back to the peak reached in December, Japanese markets have been steadily recovering since January.

Halfway point within reach

Japanese markets were hit hard in December, and have been on a slow but steady recovery since. Sell pressure and shorts are still strong, however traders suspect that if the market can get back up to 21,700 confidence in a complete recovery will return among investors. Today saw a quick rise for Nikkei from 21,450 to 21,560, however that is in the context of of an 80 point fall on Tuesday.

Other Asian markets also fell on Tuesday, with Hang Seng, Mumbai Sensex and the Shanghai SE Composite all down ~0.65%. If they follow Japan today as well, they should each see a comfortable rise in the first hours of trading today.

Pharmaceutical companies leading the charge

Three pharma giants across the board have performed very well to date this year, with Sumitomo Dainippon, Eisai and Chugai Pharma all having risen by 40-70% in the last two months. This after industry reports foresee strong growth in Japanese pharmaceuticals this and coming years, particularly for generic drugs. Laura Murina, Brand Manager for CPhI Japan, recently told reporters:

“Japan’s pharmaceutical industry has long centred on strong innovation and patented drugs, but we are now observing a dramatic increase in generics and biosimilars in the market.”

The expected rise would see Japan solidifying its position ahead of Korea and Europe as the second most mature pharmaceuticals market after the US. 2019 also marks the first year where exports will bring in more revenue than domestic consumption for this market.

Mature crypto market

While appearing stagnant in the ongoing crypto bear market, Japanese financial companies are also set for strong growth if and when crypto begins to see a lasting recovery. With a more mature regulatory framework than almost anywhere else in the world, Japanese players in crypto can point to a history of regulatory compliance in a market where many companies do not even have regulators to obey.

Financial giants like Mizuho are making significant progress positioning themselves for the seemingly inevitable recovery, with a Yen-based stablecoin set to launch on March the first.