Japan stocks closed higher, supported by global economic expectations

Japanese stocks rose at the close Monday, April 10, with the yen falling slightly, supported by hopes about the global economy’s ability to withstand rising inflation and raising interest rates, but stock movements were limited ahead of the first press conference of Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda.

The Nikkei index rose 0.42% to close at 27,633.66 points, while the broader Topix index rose 0.56% to 1,976.53 points.

In the past few weeks, markets have been swept by wild swings over interest rate expectations that can form the basis of stock valuations and growth forecasts. But expectations settled on bets that there is an imminent peak in US interest rates, while the stability of US jobs data last week raised hopes that the economic damage may not be so bad.

The index of shares of insurance companies rose 1.21%, while the index of shares of the banking sector increased by 0.62%, both of which have a strong impact on interest rates.

The freight sector index rose 2.86% and was at the forefront of the gaining sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Nippon Yusen jumped 3.54 percent, recording the highest gain on the Nikkei.

Ueda, the governor of the Bank of Japan, will hold his first press conference since taking office later on Monday as investors are looking for clues as to whether he intends to shift away from ultra-loose monetary policy.