The Nikkei 225 is expected to continue falling into the afternoon session, with rising US long-term interest rates and higher crude oil prices weighing on the market. The dollar-yen rate remains soft, while attention is also turning to developments surrounding the Bank of Japan's policy stance.
In the afternoon session on the 10th, the Nikkei 225 remained near its lows following the continued decline in the morning session and moved lower from the morning close. Among individual stocks, Advantest and Recruit Holdings rose, while Tokyo Electron and Fast Retailing fell. Morning-session trading volume was estimated at more than 900 million shares, and buying in financial stocks at times provided support at lower levels.
US equities remained soft, as they had the previous day, with the Dow posting a steep decline and the Nasdaq also falling. Renewed inflation concerns following higher oil prices and rising long-term interest rates weighed on the market as a whole, affecting the Nikkei as well. The Ministry of Finance's increase in government bond buybacks fell short of expectations in scale.
In external market developments during the day, the dollar-yen rate moved toward the mid-¥153 range, with little inclination to move toward a weaker yen. Comments by a BOJ official suggesting that accommodative financial conditions would be maintained were reported, and the appropriate conduct of monetary policy was discussed. At the same time, the turmoil in the Middle East and developments in oil markets remained key areas of focus.
Among stocks to watch in the afternoon session, Tokyo Electron and Fast Retailing, the top contributors to the decline, were in focus, while 5 stocks were also seen hitting their daily price limits. There were no notable economic data releases, while comments by a BOJ policy board member were reported as the main remarks from a key official.