Japanese indices rise after interest rate hold

Japanese indices consolidated their early gains after the central bank held interest rates steady, as expected, coinciding with the evaluation of quarterly corporate earnings.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange reported that the 225-issue Nikkei index ended today’s session up 1.02%, or 415.12 points, to close at 41,069.82. The broader Topix index also rose 0.78%, or 22.89 points, to close at 2,943.07.

In terms of exchange rates, the US currency fell against its Japanese counterpart by approximately 0.32% to 149.07 yen in morning trading, while the yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds rose by about half a basis point to 1.558%. Corporate earnings led the market, with shares of technology company Kyocera jumping 9.54%, drugmaker Astellas Pharma rising 6.08%, and Nissan Motor rising 1.74%. SoftBank continued its strong performance, rising 2.705%.