Several
investors
have
been
looking
favorably
at
Japanese
stocks
in
the
past
few
months,
and
market
strategist
Matt
Orton
is
no
exception.
“Japan
overall,
has
been
a
fantastic
market
…
Japan
was
the
top
performer
within
the
Asian
equity
market
complex,”
the chief
market
strategist
at
asset
management
firm
Raymond
James
Investment
Management
told
CNBC’s
”
Squawk
Box
Asia
”
on
April
1.
Japan’s
Nikkei
225
Index is
up
nearly
20%
year
to
date.
The
stronger
performance
of
Japanese
equities
follows
the
Tokyo
Exchange
Group’s
push
for
reforms
last
year.
One
stock
that
stands
out
to
Orton
is
Sumitomo
Mitsui
Financial
Group
.
“What
I
really
like
about
it,
is
the
fact
that
you
have,
finally,
interest
rates
increasing
in
the
country
—
that’s
going
to
benefit
financials,
broadly
speaking,
but
Sumitomo
has
an
asset
management
business
that’s
levered
to
other
parts
of
the
world,
not
just
Japan,”
he
said.
“They
also
have
a
number
of
investments
that
they’ve
made
over
the
past
decade,
that
you’re
finally
starting
to
see
good
return
on
coming
forward,”
Orton
added.
The
company
recently
outlined
its
plans
to
become
a
“top-tier
player
in
each
country
by
enhancing
[its]
business
platform
through
post-merger
integration
including
additional
investments:
capital
support,
governance
framework
enhancement,
and
business
collaboration.”
Countries
it
is
looking
at
keenly
include
Indonesia,
India,
Vietnam
and
the
Philippines.
Shares
in
Sumitomo
are
up
around
62.2%
in
the
last
12
months.
Of
the
14
analysts
covering
the
stock,
10
give
it
a
buy
or
overweight
rating,
while
four
have
a
hold
rating,
according
to
FactSet
data.
Analysts’
average
price
target
for
the
stock
is
9,537.50
Japanese
yen
($62.89),
giving
it
around
11%
potential
upside.
