Nikkei Strengthens, Ready to Face the BoJ Next Week?
Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed higher on Friday, buoyed by global market optimism after the Fed cut interest rates again and signaled a looser policy stance going forward. Falling US bond yields have boosted risk appetite, encouraging investors to invest more in stocks, including in the Japanese market. The weakening US dollar and the yen's slight weakening also helped sentiment, as Japanese exporter stocks still appear attractive to the market.
Domestically, market participants remain cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan (BoJ) meeting on December 18-19, as speculation persists that the BoJ could begin raising interest rates. Furthermore, Japan's challenging fiscal issues and the potential for rising Japanese bond yields remain a risk factor. However, for today's session, post-Fed global euphoria was more dominant, so the Nikkei closed positive, supported by the export sector and large-cap stocks. Although the market remains vulnerable to volatility if the BoJ is more hawkish than expected or Wall Street corrects again. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id
