Summary Broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 8.07% over the year to finish at 1,407.51.
TOKYO, (AFP) - Tokyo s Nikkei 225 stock index climbed more than seven percent in 2014, ending Tuesday near its highest levels since before the global financial crisis struck.
The advance adds to a 57 percent surge in 2013 -- its best annual return in four decades as Tokyo s programme of monetary easing sharply weakened the yen, a plus for exporters such as Toyota and Sony. For Tuesday the index was down 1.57 percent on profit-taking, giving up 279.07 points to 17,450.77.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 8.07 percent over the year to finish at 1,407.51.
Analysts were generally upbeat on the prospects for the Japanese market in 2015 but geopolitical issues -- including turmoil in Greece -- and an uncertain outlook for the world s number three economy threaten to limit further gains.
The Nikkei struggled at the start of the year, but a fresh round of Bank of Japan monetary easing in late October and news that the national pension fund -- the world s biggest -- would shift more of its portfolio into stocks gave the flagging market a jumpstart.
The BoJ s expansion of its already vast asset-buying programme -- a cornerstone of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe s attempt to spur growth -- sent the yen tumbling -- hitting a seven-year low against the dollar.
The weaker unit makes export-oriented firms more competitive overseas while inflating the value of their repatriated overseas earnings in yen terms, although it has taken a toll on many small companies with most of their business done at home.
In Tokyo on Tuesday, the dollar bought 120.41 yen, about 40 percent higher than the 86 yen level when Abe swept to power in late 2012 on a ticket to revive the once world-beating economy
