TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Wednesday, with automaker shares helped by a weaker yen, while the Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged as widely expected.
The Nikkei entered the midday trading recess 0.7% higher at 38,107.27, and had risen to as high as 38,128.58 earlier, its highest since February 27.
The index had topped the psychologically significant 38,000 mark on Tuesday as well, but failed to close above that level.
The broader Topix gained 1.1%.
The yen ticked lower to 149.34 per dollar as of 0238 GMT, continuing its retreat from a more than five-month high of 146.545 reached last week.
Transport equipment was among the top performing indexes among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry groupings, appreciating 2.1%.
Japan’s Nikkei ends at near 3-week high
A weaker currency boosts the value of overseas sales in yen terms.
Wholesale climbed 2.7% to be the best performer, continuing this week’s rally after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway raised its holdings in several Japanese trading houses.
The BOJ held interest rates steady 0.5% in an unusually early decision that came during morning trading.
The central bank said “Japan’s economic and price outlook remains highly uncertain,” due in part to risks surrounding the fallout from global trade policies.
Investors now turn their attention to Governor Kazuo Ueda’s press conference, scheduled for 0630 GMT.
The US Federal Reserve is also expected to leave policy unchanged later on Wednesday, and the focus there will be on the impact of President Donald Trump’s aggressive and erratic tariff campaign.
“Concerns about a worsening of the US economy under Trump’s tariffs is deeply rooted, and it will take a toning down on trade policy for the market’s mood to improve,” said Kazuo Kamitani, a strategist at Nomura Securities.
Japanese markets are closed on Thursday for a national holiday, meaning any chance to react to the Fed meeting will be delayed by one day.
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