The Tokyo Stock Exchange was in decline on Friday June 14 morning, cautious a few hours before a monetary decision from the Bank of Japan (BoJ). The flagship Nikkei index dropped 0.28% to 38,610.23 points around 01:00 GMT while the broader Topix index dropped 0.05% to 2,730.42 points.
Analysts expect the BoJ to keep its rates unchanged on Friday but announce a reduction in its purchases of Japanese government bonds (JGB), with the market waiting to know at what pace and in what proportions. If the Central Bank meeting goes as planned, “without rate hikes or significant reduction in JGB purchases, the yen could weaken and stock indexes turn green”commented Nobuhiko Kuramochi, strategist at Mizuho Securities quoted by the Bloomberg agency.
Kirin amasses without foam
Japanese beer giant Kirin plans to launch a takeover bid for Japanese cosmetics group Fancl in order to diversify its activities beyond hops, according to information from the Nikkei daily. Kirin, which already owns 33% of Fancl, wants to invest $1.3 billion to acquire the remaining shares by the end of the year, according to the newspaper. In a statement released Friday morning, Kirin said it was not the source of the information, adding that the matter was to be discussed at a board meeting later today.
Oil in decline
The dollar rose against the yen, at a rate of one dollar to 157.23 yen around 01:00 GMT against 157.03 yen on Thursday at 21:00 GMT. The euro also appreciated to 168.79 yen against 168.61 yen the day before, and was worth 1.0736 dollars against 1.0737 dollars on Thursday.
The oil market was in decline: around 00:55 GMT the barrel of American WTI lost 0.94% to 77.88 dollars and the barrel of Brent from the North Sea lost 0.8% to 82.09 dollars.
