Japanese securities firms hope stocks jump in Year of the Rabbit

Hopes are high among Japanese securities companies that stocks will rise in 2023, drawing on a Japanese traditional stock market proverb that says shares “jump” in the Year of the Rabbit, after the country’s major stock index fell for the first time in four years last year.

The benchmark Nikkei stock index rose 16.4 percent on average over the past six Rabbit years since 1950, yielding better performances than most of the other 11 Chinese zodiac years, according to Daiwa Securities Co.

Four out of the past six Rabbit years saw stock prices advance. For example, the Nikkei soared 62.9 percent i...