The Nikkei 225 fell back in the morning session on the 8th in the Tokyo stock market. Selling came first as the yen appreciated, sending the index down more than ¥600 at one point, but the decline narrowed, led by export-related stocks.
The Nikkei 225 opened lower in the morning session on the 8th and was trading at around ¥130 below the previous day's close. The yen strengthened to the ¥153-per-dollar range on the morning of the 8th, prompting initial selling of export-related stocks on concerns over deteriorating earnings.
The Nikkei 225's decline widened to more than ¥600 at one point, but after the initial wave of selling subsided, buying emerged in high-priced stocks and the index showed signs of finding support. Selling pressure intensified on export-related companies as the yen continued to appreciate.
The yen's appreciation was driven by expectations that the Bank of Japan could accelerate the pace of interest-rate hikes, as well as speculation that pension funds would increase their purchases of yen-denominated bonds. Against this backdrop, moves in export-related stocks such as automakers and electronics companies intensified, while defensive stocks such as retailers and pharmaceutical companies also saw buying at times, supporting the market as a whole.
The revised gross domestic product (GDP) figure showed real growth of 1.4%, above the preliminary estimate but below the median private-sector forecast, and the market reaction remained limited. TOPIX fell back, while among individual stocks, TDK, Tokyo Electron and Ibiden declined, and Sumitomo Metal Mining rose.