In with the TOPIX, car chipmaker fire, mobility surge

While we revised up our forecasts for long-term US Treasury yields this week, we've left our upbeat forecasts for Japanese equities unchanged. One major change we have made though is to switch our attention from the Nikkei 225 to the broader TOPIX index. Meanwhile, a fire at major chipmaker Renesas's plant just north of Tokyo is likely to deal a blow to motor vehicle production in April. But with mobility surging in recent days we're still confident that Q2 will be a relatively strong one.