The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the Nikkei or the Nikkei index (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It is a price-weighted index, operating in the Japanese 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. It was originally launched by the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1950, and was taken over by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (The Nikkei) newspaper in 1970, when the Tokyo Exchange switched to the Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX), which is weighed by market capitalisation rather than stock prices.
History The Nikkei 225 began to be calculated on 7 September 1950, retroactively calculated back to 16 May 1949 when the average price of its component stocks was ¥176.21 () using a divisor of 225. Since July 2017, the index is updated every 5 seconds during trading sessions.
The Nikkei 225 Futures, introduced at Singapore Exchange (SGX) in 1986, the Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE) in 1988, Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in 1990, is now an internationally recognized futures index.Nikkei Net interactive
The Nikkei average has deviated sharply from the textbook model of stock averages, which grow at a steady exponential rate. During the Japanese asset price bubble, the average hit its bubble-era record high on 29 December 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 28 October 2008 — 82% below its peak nearly 19 years earlier. The 1989 record high held for 34 years, until it was surpassed in 2024 (see below).
On 15 March 2011, the second working day after the massive 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 25 November, putting it at its lowest close since 31 March 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.
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 volatile stock market index among the developed 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.
There was concern that the rise since 2013 was artificial and due to purchases by the Bank of Japan ("BOJ"). From a start in 2013, by end 2017, the BOJ owned circa 75% of all Japanese Exchange Traded Funds ("ETFs"), and were a top 10 shareholder of 90% of the Nikkei 225 constituents.
On 15 February 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 the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 22 February 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 the Japanese asset price bubble. On 4 March 2024, the index surpassed 40,000 (intraday and closing) for the first time in history.
On 5 August 2024, amid a global stock market decline, the Nikkei dropped by more than 4,200 points, surpassing 1987's Black Monday as its biggest single-day drop in history. The following day, it bounced back by more than 3,200 points, the largest single-day gain in history.
On 27 February 2026, the Nikkei closed at a record all-time high of 58,850 points.
Weighting
The index is a price-weighted index. The index is calculated as follows:
, then
Price is the stock price of a component. AdjFactor is the price adjustment factor. AdjPrice is the adjusted price of the stock after multiplying by the adjustment factor. Divisor is the index divisor. The divisor is adjusted each time there is a change in the index's constituents, or a stock split occurs (unless when compensated for the price adjustment factor).
, the divisor is 29.83110217. That is, every ¥100 change in the adjusted price of a constituent stock results in a 3.3522 unit movement in the index.
, the company with the largest influence on the index is Tokyo Electron (), at about 10% weight.
Contract specifications 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: +Contract SpecificationsNikkei 225 (JNK)Contract Size:Nikkei 225 Index X Y1,000Exchange:OSESector:IndexTick Size:10Tick Value:10000 JPYBig Point Value (BPV):1000Denomination:JPYDecimal Place:0
Annual returns The following table shows the annual development of the Nikkei 225, which was officially calculated back to 16 May 1949, with unofficial calculations extending back to 1914.
Year Closing level Change in Indexin Points Change in Indexin % 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 19.10201820,014.77 −2,750.17−12.08201923,656.623,641.8518.20202027,444.173,787.5516.01202128,791.711,347.544.68202226,094.50−2,697.21−9.37202333,464.177,369.6728.24202439,894.546,430.3719.21202550,339.4810,444.9426.18
Components
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". 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.
As of April 2026, the Nikkei 225 consists of the following companies (Japanese securities identification code in parentheses): Bold indicates the top ten by market capitalisation.
Air transport ANA Holdings Inc. () Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. ()
Automotive Archion Corp. () Honda Motor Co., Ltd. () Isuzu Motors Ltd. () Mazda Motor Corp. () Mitsubishi Motors Corp. () Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. () Subaru Corp. () Suzuki Motor Corp. () Toyota Motor Corp. () Yamaha Motor Company, Ltd. ()
Banking Aozora Bank, Ltd. () The Chiba Bank, Ltd. () Fukuoka Financial Group, Inc. () Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. () Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. () Resona Holdings, Inc. () Shizuoka Financial Group ()(Holding company for Shizuoka Bank) Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. () Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. () Yokohama Financial Group ()
Chemicals Asahi Kasei Corp. () Denka Co., Ltd. () Fujifilm Holdings Corp. () Kao Corp. () Kuraray Co., Ltd. () Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. () Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. () Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd. () Nitto Denko () Resonac Corp. () Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. () Shiseido Co., Ltd. () Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. () Tokuyama Corporation () Tosoh Corp. () Ube Industries, Ltd. ()
Communications KDDI Corp. () Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. () SoftBank Corp. () SoftBank Group Corp. ()
Construction Comsys Holdings Corp. () Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd. () Haseko Corp. () JGC Corporation () Kajima Corp. () Obayashi Corp. () Sekisui House, Ltd. () Shimizu Corp. () Taisei Corp. ()
Electric machinery Advantest Corp. () Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. () Canon Inc. () Denso Corp. () FANUC Corp. () Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. () Fujitsu Ltd. () Hitachi, Ltd. () Keyence Corp. () Kioxia Holdings Corp. () Kyocera Corp. () Lasertec () MinebeaMitsumi, Inc. () Mitsubishi Electric Corp. () Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. () NEC Corp. () Nidec () Omron Corp. () Panasonic Corp. () Renesas Electronics() Ricoh Co., Ltd. () Rohm Co., Ltd. () SCREEN Holdings () Seiko Epson Corp. () Sharp Corporation () Sony Corp. () Socionext Inc. () Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd. () TDK Corp. () Tokyo Electron Ltd. () Yaskawa Electric Corporation, Limited () Yokogawa Electric Corp. ()
Electric power Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. () The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. () Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Incorporated ()
Fishery Nissui Corporation ()
Foods Ajinomoto Co., Inc. () Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. () Japan Tobacco Inc. () Kikkoman Corp. () Kirin Holdings Co, Ltd () Meiji Holdings Company, Limited () NH Foods Ltd. () Nichirei Corp. () Nisshin Seifun Group Inc. () Sapporo Holdings Ltd. ()
Gas Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. () Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. ()
Glass & ceramics AGC Inc. () NGK Insulators, Ltd. () Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd. () Taiheiyo Cement Corp. () Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd. () Toto Ltd. ()
Insurance Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited () MS&AD Insurance Group, Inc. () Sompo Holdings, Inc. () T&D Holdings, Inc. () Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. ()
Land transport Nippon Express Holdings Inc. ()(Holding company for Nippon Express) Yamato Holdings Co., Ltd. ()
Machinery Amada Co. Ltd. () Daikin Industries, Ltd. () Ebara Corp. () Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. () Kanadevia Corp. () IHI Corp. () The Japan Steel Works, Ltd. () JTEKT Corp. () Komatsu Ltd. () Kubota Corp. ()