The Tokyo market at the start of the week lacked direction ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, with the yen trading in the upper ¥157 range. The Nikkei 225 fell initially before entering a wait-and-see phase toward the close.
The Tokyo market at the start of the week generally lacked direction ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, scheduled for 3 November, and the release of U.S. jobs data later in the week. In the foreign exchange market, the yen weakened slightly against the dollar, while the Nikkei 225 extended its decline.
In the Tokyo foreign exchange market, USD/JPY was ¥157.79–80 at 10:00 a.m., representing a 24-sen yen decline against the dollar from the previous weekend. It continued to trade in the upper ¥157 range toward 3:00 p.m. and at one point rose to ¥157.99, but then pulled back.
In the stock market, the Nikkei 225 closed at ¥63,081.86, down 0.33% from the previous business day. Selling led the market after U.S. stocks fell at the end of the previous week, but the index rose briefly as investors welcomed the decline in crude oil futures before entering a wait-and-see phase in the latter half of the session.
In the bond market, December Japanese government bond futures fell 3 sen from the previous business day to ¥126.71, while the newly issued 10-year JGB yield was unchanged at 2.770%. The unsecured overnight call rate in the short-term money market is expected to remain around current levels.