The Nikkei average fell significantly. It ended the morning session at 38,106.41 yen (volume estimated at 770 million shares), down 708.15 yen (-1.82%) from the previous trading day.
The U.S. stock market was mixed on the 14th. The Dow Jones fell 57.94 points (-0.15%) to 38,589.16, the Nasdaq rose 21.32 points (+0.12%) to 17,688.88, and the S&P500 ended trading at 5,431.60, down 2.14 points (-0.04%). Buyers' expectations of rate cuts waned, causing a drop after the opening. Concerns about a slowdown in consumption increased as the June Michigan Consumer Confidence Index fell more than expected, pushing down the market. Thanks to the decline in interest rates and Adobe's good earnings, the Nasdaq rallied in the late stages to update its all-time high for the fifth consecutive day. The Dow also narrowed its decline, but failed to erase its decline and ended mixed.
The Tokyo market started trading on a sell-off due to concerns such as European political instability. The Nikkei average started at 38,440.98 yen and at one point fell below 38,000 yen, expanding its decline. In some cases, foreign investors were observed to have put in futures sales after seeing the content of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting. After the first wave of selling, it recovered to the 38,000 yen level, but the morning session was still dominated by selling pressure.
In the Nikkei average adoption stocks, Advantest <6857>'s decline was noticeable, as well as real estate stocks such as Tokyo Tatemono <8804> and Sumitomo Realty <8830>. In addition, a wide range of stocks, such as Ricoh <7752>, Olympus <7733>, Nippon Steel <5631>, Suzuki <7269>, and resonac holdings <4004>, were sold.
Meanwhile, Solar Edge <6976> became the sole riser on the adoption of US Apple and updated its all-time high for the year. In addition, Yamato Holdings <9064>, Nichirei <2871>, Eisai <4523>, and Kajima <1812> were bought. Only 18 stocks rose among the Nikkei average adoption stocks.
In the midst of a decline in all industries, the decline in mining, real estate, pulp and paper, precision equipment, and insurance industries was noticeable.
At the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting on the 14th, the bank decided to reduce purchases of government bonds, but some investors appear to have initiated futures sales, believing that the bank would embark on quantitative tightening (QT). At the press conference, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said, in response to a question of whether the reduction in government bond purchases represents QT, that "there is no monetary policy element involved, and we want to operate it while minimizing it." While he suggested that it was not QT, there is a possibility that some people misunderstood that the Bank of Japan had transitioned from monetary easing to monetary tightening. Although it seems to be a problem of interpretation rather than miscommunication, the timing of the European political unrest also contributed to the expansion of the decline. In the afternoon, although it seems that the decline will stop for a while, we need to be cautious about the index's significant decline around 2:00 p.m., when European investors are expected to participate.