The Nikkei rose for a second straight session, but gains were capped, with the outcome of the BOJ meeting the market's focus ahead of the holiday. The market opened firmly against the backdrop of the U.S. FOMC decision and continued yen weakness, but gains narrowed from the afternoon onward.
The Nikkei 225 closed up ¥213.25 from the previous day at ¥64,136.25 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on the 17th, after opening more than ¥700 higher. Expectations of a U.S. FOMC rate hike and continued yen weakness against the dollar were said to have encouraged buying across a broad range of stocks, but the market failed to build enough momentum to push above its high toward the end of the session, and gains narrowed.
Trading value was approximately ¥7.15 trillion, while trading volume was 1.95662 billion shares. More than 80% of stocks rose, compared with approximately 15% that fell, as the index struggled to extend its gains. By sector, marine transportation, Other Products and pharmaceuticals rose, while mining, nonferrous metals, securities and commodity futures declined.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries surged after announcing the conclusion of a capital and business alliance agreement. Game-related, entertainment-related, SaaS-related and drone-related stocks were firm. Meanwhile, many semiconductor stocks and electronic component stocks weakened, while INPEX fell more than 3% as crude oil prices declined again.
With the results of the BOJ monetary policy meeting due to be announced on the 18th, Governor Ueda's (植田) press conference is expected to be a focus. Markets will be closed for a holiday next week, so the meeting outcome and position adjustments ahead of the long weekend could make the index volatile.