By Andrew Capon
Japanese equities have had a roller-coaster ride to nowhere over the past year. The Nikkei 225 has eked out a 0.55 percent return. But at one point in the fourth quarter of 2018, it was firmly in bear market territory. Even the bounce back in 2019 has still seen Japanese equities underperform the United States, UK and Pacific Rim excluding Japan.
Concerns over trade wars, the dominant narrative in Q4 2018, have begun to feed through to economic data. The Business Conditions Coincident Indicator, published by the Cabinet Office, has fallen