Japanese Stocks Experience Volatility Amid Rising Bond Yields and U.S. Trade Policy Concerns:
Japanese stocks opened the week with a volatile performance,
impacted by rising bond yields and uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policy.
However, gains in semiconductor stocks provided some support to market indices.
Content:
China’s Consumer Inflation Sees Unexpected Decline for the First Time in 13 Months
China’s consumer inflation fell below zero in February for the first time in 13 months,
reflecting seasonal factors and reinforcing ongoing deflationary pressures in the world’s second-largest economy.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Sunday,
the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined by 0.7% year-on-year, following a 0.5% increase in the previous month.
This reading was worse than analysts’ expectations of a 0.4% decline.
Additionally, the core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices,
fell by 0.1%, marking its first decline since 2021 and only the second drop in more than 15 years.
Meanwhile, factory prices continued to shrink for the 29th consecutive month.
Trump: TikTok Sale Deal in the U.S. Nearing Completion with Four Potential Buyers
On Sunday, former U.S. President Donald Trump revealed that negotiations
are ongoing with four different buyers to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations, indicating that the deal could be finalized soon.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump stated:
“We are dealing with four different groups, and there is a lot of interest in the deal.”
However, he did not disclose the names of the competing companies
or specify which offer he favored, simply noting: “They are all good.”
Last week, Trump expressed openness to extending the April 5 deadline
if necessary but reaffirmed that completing the deal next month remains viable.
A bipartisan law previously set January 19 as the deadline for Chinese company
ByteDance will sell TikTok’s U.S. operations, temporarily suspending the app’s services in the country.
However, after taking office, Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline by 75 days.
Japanese Stocks Experience Volatility Amid Rising Bond Yields and U.S. Trade Policy Concerns
Japanese stocks started the week with a volatile performance,
influenced by rising bond yields and uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policies.
However, gains in semiconductor stocks helped support some market indices.
The Nikkei index closed 0.38% higher at 37,028 points after dropping to 36,705 points,
its lowest level since September 18.
Meanwhile, the Topix index ended Monday’s session 0.29% lower at 2,700 points,
although it recovered some of its intraday losses.
Chip manufacturing stocks recorded substantial gains,
Advantest shares rose 3.7%, and Lasertec surged 10%,
making it one of the top gainers in the Nikkei index.
Additionally, SMC Corp, a company specializing in industrial automation systems, climbed 6.8%.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen by 0.24% in the currency market,
reaching 147.68 yen.
The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose six basis points
in the bond market to 1.587%, marking its highest level in over 16 years,
following weak demand in a five-year bond auction.
Japanese Stocks Experience Volatility Amid Rising Bond Yields
