Nikkei Weakens After BOJ Hold, Here's the Detail
The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.6% to below 60,200 on Tuesday (April 28), retreating from its latest record high as the market responded to the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) decision to maintain its policy rate at 0.75% for the fourth consecutive meeting. The decision was in line with expectations, but the central bank's communication was seen as more restrictive after the BOJ raised its inflation projections.
In its projection update, the BOJ also lowered its FY2026 growth outlook to reflect the economic impact of the conflict in the Middle East. Three of the nine policy board members were said to support a rate hike, signaling growing concerns about inflationary pressures linked to the Iran war. The combination of the projection revisions and the vote composition reinforced the perception that policy risks were shifting in a more hawkish direction, despite the key decision remaining on hold.
Market focus was also restrained by geopolitical developments after Iran submitted a new proposal to the US, while differences over Tehran's nuclear program remain a major obstacle. In this context, risk sentiment tends to be fragile: expectations of domestic tightening could potentially depress valuations, while geopolitical uncertainty keeps volatility high.
On the corporate side, pressure came from technology and AI-related stocks. Advantest fell around 5% despite posting strong earnings performance, while SoftBank Group plunged nearly 10% amid resurgent concerns about the artificial intelligence sector. Declines were also seen in Hitachi (-5.8%), Tokyo Electron (-4.1%), and Fanuc (-4.1%), adding to the burden on today's index movement. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
