TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended higher Tuesday as investors breathed a sigh of relief after the Bank of Japan only tweaked its loose monetary policy.

The benchmark Nikkei index, which traded lower before the central bank’s decision, firmed to close up 0.53 percent, or 161.89 points, to 30,858.85, while the broader Topix index also rose 1.01 percent, or 22.48 points, to 2,253.72.

The BoJ said it would let benchmark Japanese government bond yields rise to around, but not strictly up to, 1.0 percent, slightly increasing the flexibility of its programme.

Still, the central bank broadly maintained its existing easy policy, including its negative interest rate policy.

“The market was mixed before the BoJ meeting. The decision came out and there were some changes but it was not major tightening. So people were relieved by that,” Chihiro Ota of SMBC Nikko Securities said.