.svg) | |
| Foundation | 7 September 1950; 75 years ago (1950-09-07) |
|---|---|
| Operator | Nihon Keizai Shimbun (The Nikkei) (Nikkei, Inc.) |
| Exchanges | Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) |
| Constituents | 225 |
| Weighting method | Price-weighted index |
| Related indices | Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) |
| Website | indexes.Nikkei.co.jp |
TheNikkei 225, or theNikkei Stock Average (Japanese:日経平均株価,Hepburn:Nikkei heikin kabuka), more commonly called theNikkei or theNikkei index[1][2] (/ˈnɪkeɪ,ˈniː-,nɪˈkeɪ/), is astock market index for theTokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It is aprice-weighted index, operating in theJapanese Yen (JP¥), and its components are reviewed twice a year. The Nikkei 225 measures the performance of 225 highly capitalised and liquid publicly owned companies in Japan from a wide array of industry sectors. Since 2017, the index is calculated every five seconds.[3] It was originally launched by the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1950, and was taken over by theNihon Keizai Shimbun (The Nikkei) newspaper in1970, when the Tokyo Exchange switched to theTokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX), which is weighed by market capitalisation rather than stock prices.[4]
The Nikkei 225 began to be calculated on September 7, 1950, retroactively calculated back to May 16, 1949 when the average price of its component stocks was ¥176.21 (equivalent to ¥1,427 in 2019) using a divisor of 225.[5][6] Since July 2017, the index is updated every 5 seconds during trading sessions.[5]
TheNikkei 225 Futures, introduced atSingapore Exchange (SGX) in 1986, theOsaka Securities Exchange (OSE) in 1988,Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in 1990, is now an internationally recognizedfutures index.[7]
The Nikkei average has deviated sharply from the textbook model of stock averages, which grow at a steady exponential rate. During theJapanese asset price bubble, the average hit its bubble-era record high on December 29th, 1989, when it reached an intraday high of 38,957.44, before closing at 38,915.87, having grown sixfold during the decade. Subsequently, it lost nearly all these gains, reaching a post-bubble intraday low of 6,994.90 on October 28th, 2008 — 82% below its peak nearly 19 years earlier.[8] The 1989 record high held for 34 years, until it was surpassed in 2024 (see below).
On March 15th, 2011, the second working day after themassive earthquake in the northeast part of Japan, the index dropped over 10% to finish at 8,605.15, a loss of 1,015 points. The index continued to drop throughout 2011, bottoming out at 8,160.01 on November 25th, putting it at its lowest close since March 31st, 2009. The Nikkei fell over 17% in 2011, finishing the year at 8,455.35, its lowest year-end closing value in nearly thirty years, when the index finished at 8,016.70 in 1982.[9]
The Nikkei started 2013 near 10,600, hitting a peak of 15,942 in May. However, shortly afterward, it plunged by almost 10% before rebounding, making it the most volatilestock market index among thedeveloped markets. By 2015, it had reached over 20,000 mark, marking a gain of over 10,000 in two years, making it one of the fastest growing stock market indices in the world. However, by 2018, the index growth was more moderate at around the 22,000 mark.[citation needed]
There was concern that the rise since 2013 was artificial and due to purchases by the Bank of Japan ("BOJ").[10][11] From a start in 2013, by end 2017, the BOJ owned circa 75%[12] of all Japanese Exchange Traded Funds ("ETFs"), and were a top 10 shareholder of 90% of the Nikkei 225 constituents.[13][14]
On February 15th, 2021, the Nikkei average breached the 30,000 benchmark, its highest level in 30 years, due to the levels of monetary stimulus and asset purchase programs executed by the Bank of Japan to mitigate the financial effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[15]
On February 22nd, 2024, the Nikkei reached an intraday high of 39,156.97 and closed at 39,098.68, finally surpassing its 1989 record high, an important milestone since theJapanese asset price bubble.[16] On March 4th, 2024, the index surpassed 40,000 (intraday and closing) for the first time in history.[17]
On August 5th, 2024, amid a global stock market decline, the Nikkei dropped by more than 4,200 points, surpassing1987's Black Monday as its biggest single-day drop in history.[18] The following day, it bounced back by more than 3,200 points, the largest single-day gain in history.[19]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(May 2025) |
The index is aprice-weighted index. The index is calculated as follows:[5]
, then
As of 5 November 2025[update], the divisor is 29.91719460. That is, every ¥100 change in the adjusted price of a constituent stock results in a 3.3426 unit movement in the index.
As of 6 November 2025[update], the company with the largest influence on the index isAdvantest (TYO:6857), at about 11% weight.
The Nikkei 225 is traded as a future on the Osaka exchange (OSE). The contract specifications for the Nikkei 225 (OSE ticker symbol JNK) are listed below:
| Nikkei 225 (JNK) | |
|---|---|
| Contract Size: | Nikkei 225 Index X Y1,000 |
| Exchange: | OSE |
| Sector: | Index |
| Tick Size: | 10 |
| Tick Value: | 10000 JPY |
| Big Point Value (BPV): | 1000 |
| Denomination: | JPY |
| Decimal Place: | 0 |
The following table shows the annual development of the Nikkei 225, which was calculated back to 1914.[21][22][23]
| Year | Closing level | Change in Index in Points | Change in Index in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | 21.12 | ||
| 1915 | 32.10 | 10.98 | 51.99 |
| 1916 | 41.61 | 9.51 | 29.63 |
| 1917 | 41.40 | −0.21 | −0.50 |
| 1918 | 42.21 | 0.81 | 1.96 |
| 1919 | 53.63 | 11.42 | 27.06 |
| 1920 | 27.44 | −26.19 | −48.83 |
| 1921 | 28.88 | 1.44 | 5.25 |
| 1922 | 23.97 | −4.91 | −17.00 |
| 1923 | 22.83 | −1.14 | −4.76 |
| 1924 | 24.45 | 1.62 | 7.10 |
| 1925 | 27.96 | 3.51 | 14.36 |
| 1926 | 27.25 | −0.71 | −2.54 |
| 1927 | 25.82 | −1.43 | −5.25 |
| 1928 | 25.65 | −0.17 | −0.66 |
| 1929 | 21.32 | −4.33 | −16.88 |
| 1930 | 16.82 | −4.50 | −21.11 |
| 1931 | 16.28 | −0.54 | −3.21 |
| 1932 | 30.33 | 14.05 | 86.30 |
| 1933 | 34.12 | 3.79 | 12.50 |
| 1934 | 32.30 | −1.82 | −5.33 |
| 1935 | 33.76 | 1.46 | 4.52 |
| 1936 | 35.94 | 2.18 | 6.46 |
| 1937 | 37.33 | 1.39 | 3.87 |
| 1938 | 33.66 | −3.67 | −9.83 |
| 1939 | 44.96 | 11.30 | 33.57 |
| 1940 | 37.42 | −7.54 | −16.77 |
| 1941 | 42.44 | 5.02 | 13.42 |
| 1942 | 42.71 | 0.27 | 0.64 |
| 1943 | 42.11 | −0.60 | −1.40 |
| 1944 | 41.82 | −0.29 | −0.69 |
| 1945 | 40.53 | −1.29 | −3.08 |
| 1946 | 28.72 | −11.81 | −29.14 |
| 1947 | 39.31 | 10.59 | 36.87 |
| 1948 | 72.84 | 33.53 | 85.30 |
| 1949 | 109.91 | 37.07 | 50.89 |
| 1950 | 101.91 | −8.00 | −7.28 |
| 1951 | 166.06 | 64.15 | 62.95 |
| 1952 | 362.64 | 196.58 | 118.38 |
| 1953 | 377.95 | 15.31 | 4.22 |
| 1954 | 356.09 | −21.86 | −5.78 |
| 1955 | 425.69 | 69.60 | 19.55 |
| 1956 | 549.14 | 123.45 | 29.00 |
| 1957 | 474.55 | −74.59 | −13.58 |
| 1958 | 666.54 | 191.99 | 40.46 |
| 1959 | 874.88 | 208.34 | 31.26 |
| 1960 | 1,356.71 | 481.83 | 55.07 |
| 1961 | 1,432.60 | 75.89 | 5.59 |
| 1962 | 1,420.43 | −12.17 | −0.85 |
| 1963 | 1,225.10 | −195.33 | −13.75 |
| 1964 | 1,216.55 | −8.55 | −0.70 |
| 1965 | 1,417.83 | 201.28 | 16.55 |
| 1966 | 1,452.10 | 34.27 | 2.42 |
| 1967 | 1,283.47 | −168.63 | −11.61 |
| 1968 | 1,714.89 | 431.42 | 33.61 |
| 1969 | 2,358.96 | 644.07 | 37.56 |
| 1970 | 1,987.14 | −371.82 | −15.76 |
| 1971 | 2,713.74 | 726.60 | 36.57 |
| 1972 | 5,207.94 | 2,494.20 | 91.91 |
| 1973 | 4,306.80 | −901.14 | −17.30 |
| 1974 | 3,817.22 | −489.58 | −11.37 |
| 1975 | 4,358.60 | 541.38 | 14.18 |
| 1976 | 4,990.85 | 632.25 | 14.51 |
| 1977 | 4,865.60 | −125.25 | −2.51 |
| 1978 | 6,001.85 | 1,136.25 | 23.35 |
| 1979 | 6,569.47 | 567.62 | 9.46 |
| 1980 | 7,116.38 | 546.91 | 8.33 |
| 1981 | 7,681.84 | 565.46 | 7.95 |
| 1982 | 8,016.67 | 334.83 | 4.36 |
| 1983 | 9,893.82 | 1,877.15 | 23.42 |
| 1984 | 11,542.60 | 1,648.78 | 16.66 |
| 1985 | 13,113.32 | 1,570.72 | 13.61 |
| 1986 | 18,701.30 | 5,587.98 | 42.61 |
| 1987 | 21,564.00 | 2,862.70 | 15.31 |
| 1988 | 30,159.00 | 8,595.00 | 39.86 |
| 1989 | 38,915.87 | 8,756.87 | 29.04 |
| 1990 | 23,848.71 | −15,067.16 | −38.72 |
| 1991 | 22,983.77 | −864.94 | −3.63 |
| 1992 | 16,924.95 | −6,058.82 | −26.36 |
| 1993 | 17,417.24 | 492.29 | 2.91 |
| 1994 | 19,723.06 | 2,305.82 | 13.24 |
| 1995 | 19,868.15 | 145.09 | 0.74 |
| 1996 | 19,361.35 | −506.80 | −2.55 |
| 1997 | 15,258.74 | −4,102.61 | −21.19 |
| 1998 | 13,842.17 | −1.416,57 | −9.28 |
| 1999 | 18,934.34 | 5,092.17 | 36.79 |
| 2000 | 13,785.69 | −5,148.65 | −27.19 |
| 2001 | 10,542.62 | −3,243.07 | −23.52 |
| 2002 | 8,578.95 | −1,963.67 | −18.63 |
| 2003 | 10,676.64 | 2,097.69 | 24.45 |
| 2004 | 11,488.76 | 812.12 | 7.61 |
| 2005 | 16,111.43 | 4,622.67 | 40.24 |
| 2006 | 17,225.83 | 1,114.40 | 6.92 |
| 2007 | 15,307.78 | −1,918.05 | −11.13 |
| 2008 | 8,859.56 | −6,448.22 | −42.12 |
| 2009 | 10,546.44 | 1,686.88 | 19.04 |
| 2010 | 10,228.92 | −317.52 | −3.01 |
| 2011 | 8,455.35 | −1,773.57 | −17.24 |
| 2012 | 10,395.18 | 1,939.83 | 22.94 |
| 2013 | 16,291.31 | 5,896.13 | 56.72 |
| 2014 | 17,450.77 | 1,159.46 | 7.12 |
| 2015 | 19,033.71 | 1,582.94 | 9.07 |
| 2016 | 19,114.40 | 80.69 | 0.42 |
| 2017 | 22,764.94 | 3,650.54 | 19.10 |
| 2018 | 20,014.77 | −2,750.17 | −12.08 |
| 2019 | 23,656.62 | 3,641.85 | 18.20 |
| 2020 | 27,444.17 | 3,787.55 | 16.01 |
| 2021 | 28,791.71 | 1,347.54 | 4.68 |
| 2022 | 26,094.50 | −2,697.21 | −9.37 |
| 2023 | 33,464.17 | 7,369.67 | 28.24 |
| 2024 | 39,894.54 | 6,430.37 | 19.21 |
It is not recorded how components were originally selected, or why there are 225 components. Today, components are selected by "considering the weights of the industrial sectors".[clarification needed] Constituents must be highly traded ("liquid"). Constituents are changed either at periodic review one per year, or by "extraordinary replacement", for example if a company is delisted.[5]
As of October 2025, the Nikkei 225 consists of the following companies (Japanese securities identification code in parentheses):[24] Bold indicates the top ten by market capitalisation.
| History | |
|---|---|
| Policy | |
| Currency | |
| Banking andfinance | |
| Government agencies | |
| Labor market | |
| Energy | |
| Rankings | |
| Industry | |
| Associations | |
| Other topics | |
