Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) booked a 25 percent return on its investments, or 37.8 trillion yen ($339 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 31, raking in the benefits of a robust rally in global stock markets.

The world's largest pension fund, which managed 186.2 trillion yen worth of assets as of March-end, said in a statement on Friday it had an annual return of 14.7 trillion yen on domestic stocks and 20.7 trillion yen on foreign equities.

It marked a stunning recovery from an 8.28 trillion yen loss for the previous fiscal year, with the COVID-19 pandemic driving its worst annual performance since the 2008-09 financial crisis.

GPIF's investments are closely watched by global investors because of the fund's sheer size. GPIF has recently shifted its portfolio away from unprofitable domestic bonds toward higher-yielding foreign assets, given ultra-low interest rates at home.

GPIF heavily relies on a passive index-tracking strategy so its returns usually mirror market movement. Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 55 percent in the last financial year while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced more than 50 percent, as market sentiment rose in tandem with the progress made in pandemic-busting vaccination programs worldwide.

(With input from Reuters, AFP)