Graphic alert: Nikkei 225 bullyish acceleration intact for 60,000 in the first step

[Ben Graham]

Key takeaways

• Bullish momentum reinforced by politics: The Nikkei 225 extended its rally from the 6 February reversal low, supported by PM Takaichi’s snap election victory and a decisive parliamentary supermajority, making it the top-performing major global index over the past two sessions (+2.3%).
• Stronger yen not derailing equities: Despite USD/JPY falling on intervention fears, Japanese equities held firm. Domestically focused stocks are outperforming exporters, suggesting a stronger JPY is boosting consumer confidence and supporting internal demand.
• Acceleration phase intact toward 60,000: Technically, the short-term uptrend remains valid above 56,990 support, with upside targets at 58,932, 59,884, and 60,833–61,215. Momentum indicators continue to support further gains unless key support breaks.

The Nikkei 225 has continued to bask in the bullish limelight since last Friday, 6 February 2026’s minor bullish reversal low of 52,956, reinforced by the results of Japan’s lower house parliament snap election held on Sunday, 8 February 2026.

Incumbent Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi’s coalition party has managed to score a stunning victory in the snap election, surpassing the two-thirds majority of 310 seats, with Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party winning 316 seats in the 465-seat lower house.

Nikkei 225 is the top performer among global stock markets over the past two days

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Fig. 1: Global stock market indices with USD/JPY from 9 Feb to 10 Feb 2026 (Source: MacroMicro)

Since the start of the week till Tuesday, 10 February 2026, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is the top-performing major global stock with a positive return of 2.3%, surpassing the major US stock indices; Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%), S&P 500 (-0.3%), Russell 2000 (-0.4%), and Nasdaq 100 (-0.6%) (see Fig. 1).

Interestingly, the renewed strength in the Japanese yen, where the USD/JPY shed -1% in the past two sessions due to fears of US-Japan joint intervention, is not having a negative feedback loop impact on the Nikkei 225.

Japan’s equities with high domestic exposure are outperforming exporters

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Fig. 2: Relative performance of Nikkei 225 Domestic Exposure against Global Exposure as of 10 Feb 2026 (Source: MacroMicro)

A stronger JPY is likely to negate the current higher cost-of-living squeeze in Japan, in turn, further boosting consumer confidence, which leads to an increase in domestic spending.

Within the Nikkei 225, stocks with a higher reliance on domestic Japanese sales are outperforming export-heavy names, particularly technology equipment and automobile manufacturers with greater overseas exposure.

Since 4 February 2026, the Nikkei 225 Domestic Exposure 50 Index (domestic sales) has outperformed the Nikkei 225 Global Exposure 50 Index (international sales), where its ratio increased to 0.76 on Tuesday, 10 February 2026, and broke above a 5-month descending resistance (see Fig. 2).

Hence, this counterintuitive observation suggests that a stronger Japanese yen is likely to be playing a supportive role at this juncture to maintain the bullish trend in the Japanese stock market (Nikkei 225).

Let's now look at the technical chart of Japan CFD index (a proxy of the Nikkei 225 futures) to decipher its short-term trajectory and key levels to watch.

Short-term trend (1 to 3 days): Minor bullish acceleration intact since 6 February

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Fig. 3: Japan 225 CFD index minor trend as of 11 Feb 2026 (Source: TradingView)

Watch the 56,990 short-term pivotal support on the Japan 225 CFD index for the next intermediate resistances to come in at 58,932, 59,884, and 60.833/61,215 (Fibonacci extensions clusters).

On the flip side, a break and an hourly close below 56,990 negates the bullish tone for a minor corrective pull-back towards the next intermediate support at 56,096, and below it risks a deeper slide to retest 55,111/54,790 (the former range resistance from 14 January to 4 February 2026).

Key elements to support the short-term bullish bias

The hourly RSI momentum indicator has so far managed to hold at its intermediate support at around the 50 level after it exited from its overbought region on Tuesday, 10 February 2026.

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