2024-03-14 01:17:41
The Tokyo Stock Exchange was trading lower on Thursday March 14 in the morning, while investors continued to study the signs that could decide the Bank of Japan to abandon its negative rates from its meeting on March 18 and 19. The flagship Nikkei index lost 0.56% to 38,477.42 points around 00:45 GMT and the broader Topix index dropped 0.12% to 2,645.30 points.
Japan’s Rengo trade union confederation is due to announce preliminary wage increase figures on Friday as part of annual spring negotiations, after several major companies, including Toyota, announced on Wednesday that they had granted substantial pay rises. Sharp increases among Japanese companies could prompt the Bank of Japan to start its monetary tightening next week rather than in April.
According to the Bloomberg agency, BoJ officials are also considering giving up redemptions of exchange-traded index funds (ETFs), which are part of the range of unconventional monetary easing measures it uses to stimulate Japanese growth. . The BoJ surprised the market on Monday by refraining from buying ETFs despite a fall of more than 2% in the Topix index mid-session, a ritual that it had observed since 2021.
Nissan has beef with Honda
The Japanese car manufacturer Nissan (+2.8%) is considering a partnership on electric vehicles with its compatriot Honda (+1.8%), aiming to reduce costs by using a common platform, according to internal sources at Nissan cited by the daily Nikkei. However, internal discussions are still at the preliminary stage at French ally Renault, and Honda’s position on the issue is not known, the newspaper specifies.
Nippon Steel
The steelmaker Nippon Steel lost 0.7%. The American US Steel, which he announced the acquisition last December, fell by almost 13% on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday after several American media reported that American President Joe Biden was going to publicly express reservations regarding this acquisition.
The yen rising slightly
The dollar fell to 147.69 yen around 00:45 GMT, compared to 147.76 yen on Wednesday at 21:00 GMT. The euro also fell against the Japanese currency, worth 161.67 yen against 161.76 yen the day before. But the euro was almost stable against the greenback, trading for $1.0947 compared to $1.0948 on Thursday.
Oil was stable: around 00:40 GMT the barrel of American WTI dropped just 0.03% to 79.70 dollars and the barrel of Brent from the North Sea fell by 0.01% to 84.02 dollars.
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