This market did remarkably well in 2020 and almost no one noticed

Away from the headlines, two big things happened this year, says John Stepek. There was an important shift in the way governments think. And Japan’s stockmarket hit a very important milestone.

People walk past a board displaying Nikkei 225 stock prices
Japan's Nikkei 225 index is back at its 1989 high
(Image credit: © KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images)

It's the time of year for forecasts; for FTSE 100 price targets; for stock tips. But as it's been such a tumultuous year, maybe it's a smarter idea to look at what actually happened in the 12 months just past – and how that might shape the year ahead.

That's what one of the analysts at Gavekal has done. And it's proved so interesting that I thought I'd share a couple of his key points with you this morning. One is about an obvious, but hugely important shift in government thinking. And the other is about a market that hit an important milestone without anyone really noticing it.

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John Stepek

John Stepek is a senior reporter at Bloomberg News and a former editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He graduated from Strathclyde University with a degree in psychology in 1996 and has always been fascinated by the gap between the way the market works in theory and the way it works in practice, and by how our deep-rooted instincts work against our best interests as investors.

He started out in journalism by writing articles about the specific business challenges facing family firms. In 2003, he took a job on the finance desk of Teletext, where he spent two years covering the markets and breaking financial news.

His work has been published in Families in Business, Shares magazine, Spear's Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Spectator among others. He has also appeared as an expert commentator on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, BBC Radio Scotland, Newsnight, Daily Politics and Bloomberg. His first book, on contrarian investing, The Sceptical Investor, was released in March 2019. You can follow John on Twitter at @john_stepek.