FX168 Financial News (Asia Pacific) News On Thursday (May 9), the Nikkei Index returned early trading gains and closed lower. The minutes of the Bank of Japan's April meeting showed that the central bank members turned to an overwhelmingly hawkish stance at the April policy meeting, and many called for a steady increase in interest rates to prevent the risk of inflation overregulation.
As of the Tokyo close, the Nikkei 225 index fell 0.34% or 128.39 points to close at 38,073.98 points. Among them, declining sectors such as glass, insurance, and telecommunications led the stock index lower; the Tokyo Stock Exchange Index rose 0.26% or 7.03 points to close at 2,713.36 points.
Shuji Hosoi, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, said: “The fall in Arm's stock price caused Tokyo Electronics and other chip-related stocks to be sold off.”
The stock price of Tokyo Electron (Tokyo Electron), a Japanese chip manufacturing equipment manufacturer, fell nearly 3%, becoming the biggest drag on the Nikkei Index.
SoftBank Group (SoftBank Group), which owns about 90% of Arm Holdings' shares, also declined by about 3%.
The Nikkei 225 index's best performer on the day was that Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.) shares rose 14.27% to a five-year high; at the same time, Yamaha Corp. (Yamaha Corp.) rose 9.29%; IHI Corporation rose 8.20%.
The Nikkei Volatility Ratio, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, rose 8.07% to 20.75, hitting a one-month low.
#日元贬值 #美元 /yen stabilized at 155.55 after falling for three consecutive trading days.
The minutes of the Bank of Japan's April meeting showed that central bank members turned to an overwhelmingly hawkish stance, and many called for a steady increase in interest rates to prevent the risk of inflation overregulation.
Japan's top monetary diplomat Masato Kanda (Masato Kanda) said that there is no limit on reserves for currency intervention, which makes traders nervous. #日本央行动态 #
However, real wages in Japan fell 2.5% year on year after adjustment for inflation in March, falling for two consecutive years, or dragging down the yen's performance.
Real wages in Japan fell 24 months in a row, setting the longest record
According to data released by the Japanese government on Thursday, real wages in Japan fell for 24 consecutive months in March. This is the longest decline since comparable data were available in 1991, down 2.5% from the same period last year.
Some economists say they expect real wages to be corrected sometime in the 2024/25 fiscal year.
Notably, real wage growth is seen as essential for Japan to completely escape its long-term struggle against deflation, yet real wage growth lags behind rising prices.
Due to the high cost of raw materials and the weakening yen, the price of daily necessities continues to rise, thereby weakening the purchasing power of households.
The recent consecutive decline surpassed the record for the period from September 2007 to July 2009, when the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the US triggered the global financial crisis.
According to data from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, nominal wage (average monthly total cash income per worker, including basic wage and overtime pay) increased by 0.6% to 301,193 yen (approximately $1,940), increasing for 27 consecutive months.
This data was released after the spring annual labor wage negotiations had the most favorable results for workers in large companies in 30 years, while Ministry of Finance data showed that only about 20% of small and medium-sized enterprises raised wages by more than 5%.
A Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare official said that the results of the “Chun Dou” wage negotiations were not reflected in the March data.
Therefore, the results may be included in the April data as early as possible, and the focus will be on whether real wages will be corrected for the first time in two years.