Japanese Stocks Gain as BOJ’s Higher Inflation View Boosts Banks
Japanese stocks climbed on Thursday as the Bank of Japan’s higher inflation forecast prompted gains in banking shares. Those advances helped extend a rise initially triggered by robust earnings from Meta Platforms and Microsoft which boosted tech shares.
Topix Index rose 0.8% to 2,943.07 as of 3:30 p.m. Tokyo time
Nikkei advanced 1% to 41,069.82.
Hitachi Ltd. contributed the most to the Topix Index gain, increasing 2.3%. Out of 1,682 stocks in the index, 1,325 rose and 314 fell, while 43 were unchanged.
“Judging from the market’s reaction, it appears that the BOJ announcement was perceived as somewhat more hawkish than previously expected,” said Shingo Ide, chief equity strategist at NLI Research.
Tech shares including Disco, Screen and Rohm rose in Tokyo.
“With Microsoft posting solid earnings, some related sectors are showing resilience today,” said Hiroki Takei, a strategist at Resona Holdings, adding that makers of chip manufacturing equipment as well as cables are up today.
Source: Bloomberg
