Tokyo stocks rise as BoJ holds rates steady

23 hours ago 7
Japanese stocks roseate  Thursday arsenic  traders measurement   a cardinal  slope  argumentation  announcement and markets digested information  showing the US system  shrinking successful  the archetypal  quarterJapanese stocks roseate Thursday arsenic traders measurement a cardinal slope argumentation announcement and markets digested information showing the US system shrinking successful the archetypal quarter. Photo: Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP/File
Source: AFP

Japanese stocks roseate Thursday arsenic the cardinal slope kept its cardinal involvement rates dependable arsenic expected, successful bladed commercialized with astir Asian markets unopen for the May 1 holiday.

Japan's main Nikkei 225 scale and broader Topix scale were up successful greeting trade, with the Bank of Japan holding involvement rates dependable amid uncertainty implicit US President Donald Trump's fast-changing commercialized policy.

The BoJ near its benchmark involvement complaint unchanged astatine astir 0.5 percent for a 2nd consecutive meeting, but halved its maturation forecasts for the world's fourth-largest economy.

The cardinal slope said it present expects Japan's gross home merchandise (GDP) to emergence 0.5 percent successful fiscal 2025, down from its erstwhile estimation of 1.1 percent.

On Wednesday, Wall Street stocks opened sharply little aft US authorities information showed the US system shrank by an yearly complaint of 0.3 percent successful the archetypal quarter, amplifying recession worries.

But US equity markets moved gradually higher done the day, rising aft mid-morning information showed idiosyncratic spending successful March topped estimates.

As much companies propulsion backmost from net forecasts successful the look of the uncertainty regarding US tariffs, tech giants Meta and Microsoft reported quarterly profits that were supra expectations.

Shares successful Meta -- which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp -- roseate much than 4 percent successful after-market trades.

"Strong net reports from US IT companies are expected to thrust gains, led by the electronics sector," strategist Takashi Ito of Nomura Securities told Bloomberg.

Kathleen Brooks, probe manager astatine XTB, said US stocks "staged an awesome recovery" connected Wednesday aft falling connected the worse than expected GDP data.

"For now, fears astir the extremity of American exceptionalism look a small extreme," she said successful a note.

"Both Microsoft and Meta bushed net expectations, which could pb immoderate to reason that concerns astir China's menace to US AI dominance was overdone," Brooks added.

Several markets were unopen successful Asia for holidays connected Thursday, including successful Hong Kong and mainland China.

Among unfastened indexes, Sydney and New Zealand were up.

Markets are looking up to Friday's US jobs information for April, which volition beryllium the archetypal tangible speechmaking of economical conditions aft the Trump administration's sweeping April 2 tariffs -- galore of which person been suspended.

Key figures astatine astir 0230 GMT

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent astatine 36,241.70

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: closed for holiday

Shanghai - Composite: closed for holiday

Euro/dollar: DOWN astatine $1.1312 from $1.1342 connected Wednesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN astatine $1.3314 from $1.3328

Dollar/yen: DOWN astatine 143.13 yen from 143.18 yen

Euro/pound: FLAT astatine 84.97 pence

West Texas Intermediate: FLAT astatine $58.19 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.10 percent astatine $61.12 per barrel

New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent astatine 40,669.36 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent astatine 8,494.85 (close)

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Source: AFP

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