Nikkei Jumps 1.1% as Bank of Japan Delays Rate Hike!

Japan’s Nikkei stock market climbed on Thursday. It went up by 1.1%, closing at 36,452.30 points. This rise happened after the Bank of Japan announced it would delay raising interest rates. They lowered their predictions for growth and inflation. The Bank of Japan, also known as BOJ, said it expects the economy to grow only 0.5% this year, which is much lower than before. They kept the interest rate at 0.5%, which everyone expected.

Norihiro Yamaguchi, an economist, believes the BOJ will keep this rate until 2027, before slowly increasing it. Meanwhile, Japan’s trade chief, Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa, is in Washington for talks about tariffs. President Donald Trump mentioned that deals with Japan, South Korea, and India might be close, which made investors hopeful.

Wataru Akiyama, a strategist, thinks if these talks progress, the Nikkei could even reach 37,000 points. However, shipping companies did not do well, falling 1.8% due to ongoing trade worries. On the brighter side, tech stocks did better. Advantest, a company that makes chip-testing equipment, rose by 6.9% after seeing gains from U.S. tech companies like Meta Platforms and Microsoft, who reported strong earnings.