Japanese Stocks Rise, BOJ Supported by Government
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.99%, or 447.85 points, to 45,493.66 on Monday, following a statement from Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, a leading contender for Japan's next prime minister. In an interview with Reuters, Hayashi stated that the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) plan to gradually raise interest rates is in line with government policy, adding to market optimism.
Hayashi also emphasized that Japan is moving away from its long-held view of favoring a weak yen. The policy focus is now shifting to inflation issues stemming from high energy costs. He noted that rising wages and rice prices indicate improvements in the domestic economy, while import pressures from 2022 have begun to ease. Political support for the BOJ's monetary tightening signals that the policy shift will be carried out cautiously.
Meanwhile, several corporate news stories also caught the market's attention. TRYT (TYO:9164) will officially delist from the Tokyo Stock Exchange on September 24, after shareholders approved a reverse stock split at an extraordinary meeting earlier this month. Meanwhile, Asahi (TYO:3333) approved an interim dividend of 25 yen per share with a record date of August 20 and payment scheduled for November 12, as previously expected.
Another company that caught the eye was Metaplanet (TYO:3350), which increased its Bitcoin holdings by 5,419 coins at an average price of 17.3 million yen per coin. With this 93.65 billion yen purchase, Metaplanet's total holdings now stand at 25,555 Bitcoin. Their total investment value reached 398.21 billion yen with an average price per coin of 15.6 million yen, reflecting the company's aggressive strategy in entering crypto assets. (ads)
Source: Newsmaker.id
