Japan’s Nikkei notched a fresh three-decade high and its 10th consecutive weekly gain on Friday, as investors cheered the central bank leaving its ultra-easy policy settings unchanged.
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept intact its pledge to “patiently” maintain massive stimulus. The Nikkei closed 0.7 per cent higher at 33,706, having touched a 33-year high in late trade.
Its weekly gain was 4.5 per cent and the 10-week winning streak that propelled the index 22 per cent higher and was the longest in 11 years.
The broader Topix rose 0.3 per cent on Friday and was up 3.4 per cent for the week. The yen weakened slightly and Japanese government bonds rallied a little on the BOJ announcement.
Nomura strategist Naka Matsuzawa said the decision was not a surprise, but further market reaction could hinge on Governor Kazuo Ueda’s press conference remarks that began at 3:30 p.m. JST (0630 GMT).
“Ueda’s style is to signpost leading in to meetings,” he said. “We’re not going to get the surprise policy changes we saw under (his predecessor Haruhiko) Kuroda.”
Financials were the weakest spot in an otherwise positive day as low interest rates and the prospect that they stay low keeps bank lending margins thin.
The wider rally has been driven lately by the yen’s weakness, which flatters exporters’ profits, and money flow from foreign investors, who have been impressed by an official drive to improve Japanese corporate governance and balance sheets.
Canon Inc shares rose 4.9 per cent to their best close in five years, after the cameras-to-scanners conglomerate announced a stock buyback in the latest example of shareholder-friendly cash management.
Shares of rivals Olympus and Nikon also rose 4.5 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively.
Travel and consumer stocks also performed well.
Japan Airlines shares rose more than 4 per cent to a three-year high. Shares in cosmetics-maker Shiseido rose 5.2 per cent. Top losers included lens-maker Hoya Corp, falling 2.4 per cent and railways operator Tokyu, which concluded a buyback on Tuesday, fell 2.5 per cent.
“The case for Japan remains the growing bottom-up evidence of a change in corporate governance, with the help of pressure from activists, combined with mounting evidence that inflation is back,” said Christopher Wood, global head of equities strategy at Jefferies.
