Japan Stocks Close at Record High
Tokyo, October 22 (QNA) – Japanese stocks closed at a record high on Wednesday, supported by optimism following the announcement of a major stimulus package that includes measures to help households cope with inflation.
The Topix index rose 0.5% to close at an all-time high of 3,266.43, after earlier hitting a record intraday peak of 3,274.94.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei index ended marginally lower at 49,307.79, missing the opportunity to extend Tuesday’s record closing high in the final minutes of trading.
Investors began the session by selling shares to lock in profits after the Nikkei’s 3.6% rally over the previous two sessions, which had culminated in an all-time intraday high of 49,945.95 on Tuesday.
In the bond market, the yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds eased half a basis point to 1.65%, remaining within this week’s narrow range. The 30-year yield, which reached a record 3.345% earlier this month amid fiscal concerns, declined 1 basis point to 3.115%, while the 20-year yield edged down 0.5 basis point to 2.63%.
Shorter-term yields also eased, with the two- and five-year yields falling 1 basis point each to 0.925% and 1.215%, respectively. (QNA)
AloJapan.com