Recently, the Japanese yen reached its weakest level in 34 years against the dollar, occurring just over a week after the Bank of Japan’s announcement of a significant interest rate hike, marking a departure from its long-standing policy of very relaxed monetary measures.
The yen declined to 151.97 against the dollar, the lowest since 1990. Meanwhile, Tokyo’s stock market closed higher as investors sought to lock in dividend rights with the financial year nearing its end.
The Nikkei 225 index saw an increase of 0.9%, or 364.70 points, closing at 40,762.73, while the broader Topix index gained 0.7%, or 18.48 points, finishing at 2,799.28.
Across Asia, stock markets had a mixed response following a slight downturn on Wall Street from its peak levels.
In China, despite the central bank governor’s assurance at a major business conference in Beijing about the property sector’s recovery signs and limited impact from numerous developer defaults, stocks experienced a downturn. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased by 0.8% to 16,485.26, and the Shanghai Composite index dropped by 0.5% to 3,015.74.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index rose by 0.2% to 7,799.10. Bangkok’s SET index showed little change, while India’s Sensex grew by 0.3%, and Taiwan’s Taiex also increased by 0.3%.
In the US, stock markets continued to retreat from their recent record highs. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell by 0.3% to 5,203.58, marking its third consecutive slight decline since reaching a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 0.1% to 39,282.33, and the Nasdaq composite decreased by 0.4% to 16,315.70.
