Financial market developments Against this background of a positive turn in the outlook for economic activity and prices, net purchases of Japanese stocks by foreign investors have been posting record highs, stock prices have risen substantially, and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average recovered the 15,000 yen level at the beginning of December 2005, the highest level in about five years.
Meanwhile, the yen has depreciated further in the foreign exchange market, falling to 121 yen to the U.S. dollar in early December and continuing its declining trend against the euro and Asian currencies.