BOJ Doesn’t Move and Nikkei Rallies to 15,800

Tokyo shares rose slightly on Wednesday as investors brushed off a Bank of Japan decision to stand pat on policy while turning their attention to earnings results from the previous quarter.

The central bank kept its monetary easing policy unchanged and largely maintained its growth and inflation forecasts at the end of its policy meeting. Tokyo stocks briefly fell after the outcome amid selling from investors who bet on the bank unveiling additional stimulus measures, but shares soon recouped their losses.  The Nikkei Stock Average gained 25.00 points, or 0.2%, to 15,820.96.

Junichi Makino, chief economist at SMBC Nikko Securities, said he doesn’t think more easing by the bank is completely off the table. He noted that the BOJ has slightly lowered its real growth forecast to 1.4% from a previous forecast of 1.5% for the fiscal year starting in April. That suggests bank officials now expect sharper falls in consumption following the sales tax increase starting that month, he added.

WSJ

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