FX168 Financial News (Europe) News On Friday (May 17), the Japanese stock market ended a three-day upward trend and closed lower. Meanwhile, a former chief economist at the Bank of Japan said that the Bank of Japan may raise the benchmark interest rate as many as 3 more times this year. Given the room to adjust its “excessive” easing settings, the next rate hike may arrive as early as June.
By the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell 0.34% or 132.88 points to 38,787.38 points. Among them, declining sectors such as electricity, retail, and real estate led the stock index lower; the Tokyo Stock Exchange index rose 0.30% or 8.08 points to 2,745.62 points.
The Nikkei Index had the best performance of the day when the stock prices of Japan Steel Works Ltd (Japan Steel Works Ltd) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Sumitomo Mitsui Financial) rose to five-year highs, with increases of 7.01% and 3.44%, respectively. #日本市场 #
The Nikkei Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, rose 1.21% to 18.45.
A former chief economist at the Bank of Japan said that the Bank of Japan may raise the benchmark interest rate as many as three more times this year. Given the room to adjust its “excessive” easing settings, the next rate hike may arrive as early as June.
Economist Toshitaka Sekine said on Wednesday: “This may sound extreme, but if it happened in June, that's fine.” “There's no need to decide there won't be.” He meant interest rate hikes. #日本央行动态 #
Sekine isn't the only one more hawkish than the broad market. Vanguard Group (Vanguard Group) expects the key interest rate to rise to 0.75% by the end of this year. Additionally, Pacific Investment Management Corporation (PIMCO) said it will raise interest rates 3 times by 25 basis points this year.
In February of this year, the Nikkei 225 index finally broke through the 1989 high of 38915.87 points and reached 41,087.75 points. Despite recovering some of its gains since then, the Nikkei index has risen by about 16% so far this year, which is higher than the S&P 500's gain of about 9%.
It is worth noting that corporate governance reforms have increased the confidence of long-term investors. Under changes in the geopolitical landscape, the world has begun to pour more resources into the Japanese semiconductor and other industries.
According to data, foreign investors increased their holdings of Japanese stocks last year, with net purchases reaching 2.8 trillion US dollars, and a large influx of foreign capital into stocks with the highest market capitalization in Japan, such as automobile manufacturers and electronics companies.
#日元贬值 #，亦刺激了日本出口企业的业绩。
USD/JPY rose 0.22% to 155.72; EUR/JPY rose 0.17% to 169.16.