Japan stocks trim sharp losses

Japanese stocks trimmed the sharp losses they recorded at the start of trading on Friday after the Central Bank of Japan kept its stimulus programs unchanged and indicated that it was in no hurry to shift to monetary tightening.

According to Reuters, the Nikkei index ended today, Friday, down 0.52% at 32,402.41 points, after falling to its lowest level in nearly 4 weeks at 32,154.53 points earlier today, tracking sharp declines on Wall Street amid fears of further monetary tightening by… The Federal Reserve (the US central bank).

The broader Topix index trimmed sharp losses of 1.2%, ending the day down only 0.3%.

Japanese stocks received additional support due to the decline of the yen, which continued to decline against the dollar after the Bank of Japan’s decision, heading towards the lowest level in 10 months.

“The math is very simple,” said Kyle Rodda, senior financial markets analyst at Capital.com. “Any market that is highly influenced by exports prefers a weaker currency.”

In a statement accompanying Friday’s decision, the Bank of Japan reiterated its pledge to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy “as long as necessary to maintain the (two percent inflation) target in a stable manner.”