On May 27, analysts in a Reuters survey indicated that despite the rapid rise of the Nikkei index making it difficult for forecasters to keep up, the index is expected to continue setting historical highs driven by the AI boom and strong corporate earnings. The median forecast from the Reuters survey shows analysts expect the index to rise to 69,000 points by the end of next year, setting a new record. The Nikkei index closed at 64,996.09 points on Tuesday. Yunosuke Ikeda, head of macro research at Nomura Securities, is bullish on the stock market, but noted that the pace of the Nikkei's rise has exceeded his expectations—he had previously predicted the index would reach 63,000 points by December and 65,000 points a year later. He stated that as a forecaster, this surge has been 'too rapid to keep up with.' Among 12 respondents to an additional question, seven indicated that their views on the AI boom's impact on the stock market performance have remained largely unchanged compared to three months ago, while the remaining five expressed increased optimism. Meanwhile, Ikeda noted that optimism about AI is not a necessary condition for the stock market to continue rising.