Yen Strengthens Sharply, Japanese Stocks Go "Different Directions"
Japanese stock markets traded mixed on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 rose slightly, while the Topix fell, as the yen's rapid strengthening made market participants more cautious.
The yen has strengthened for about three consecutive days, fueled by speculation about potential joint US-Japan currency intervention. Meanwhile, the US dollar remained under pressure after President Donald Trump said he was not concerned about the dollar's weakness. This combination weighed on exchange rate-sensitive export stocks.
The pressure was most felt in export-oriented stocks such as Toyota, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Sony, which also weakened. Meanwhile, technology stocks actually strengthened, helped by positive sentiment from rising Big Tech stocks in the US ahead of earnings releases. SoftBank also attracted attention after news that the company was in discussions to increase its substantial investment in OpenAI. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id