Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday, extending losses on Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve announced a third successive jumbo interest rate hike, with focus now shifting to the Japanese central bank’s meeting.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.87 percent, or 237.33 points, at 27,075.80, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.78 percent, or 14.94 points, to 1,905.86. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) will wind-up a two-day policy meeting and announce its decision later in the day, with Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaking to reporters afterward, reports BSS.
“For the BoJ, we think a policy shift is coming… but if so, then more likely out of the end-October meeting,” senior strategist Ray Attrill of National Australia Bank said in a note.
The BoJ may make a slight change in “the language on inflation” in the upcoming statement, for example saying recent price increases are no longer seen as temporary, he added.
The Fed announced another 0.75 percentage point hike on Wednesday as it looks to tame inflation, which sitting at a 40-year high.
US stocks climbed ahead of the announcement but they gyrated after the Fed the statement, before taking a final decisive push lower during Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference.
The announcement also boosted the dollar against the euro and sterling. In Asia, the greenback fetched 144.25 yen, up from 144.02 yen in New York late Wednesday.
Among major shares, SoftBank Group dropped 1.83 percent to 5,353 yen after reports said it will begin talks with South Korean electronics conglomerate Samsung over a strategic alliance for its chip unit Arm.
Toshiba rose 1.59 percent to 5,165 yen. That came as a report said state- backed Japan Investment Corp will dissolve a partnership with a Japanese private equity firm and instead seek to join hands with US fund Bain Capital on a joint bid for Toshiba’s restructuring.
Sony Group was down 1.67 percent at 10,000 yen, Nippon Steel dipped 0.36 percent to 2,241 yen and airline ANN Holdings was down 2.09 percent at 2,676.5 yen.
