Japanese stocks edge up on Wednesday

Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday as the yen weakened to its lowest level since 1990, while Chinese markets declined, as reported by Reuters.

The Nikkei index closed up 0.9 per cent at 40,762.73, nearing its all-time high. The yen’s decline to 151.975 against the US dollar, prompted concerns from Japan’s finance minister, signalling potential intervention.

Despite the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) recent interest rate hike, traders anticipate gradual tightening and potential delays in Federal Reserve easing.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell one per cent, and Chinese blue chips lost about 0.7 per cent.

Overall, the Asia-Pacific shares index advanced 0.1 per cent, but excluding Japanese shares, it declined by 0.17 per cent.

Market volatility is attributed to quarterly rebalancing flows and anticipation of key events, including the release of the US inflation indicator and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday.

The US dollar index edged higher, while the euro remained flat.

Gold prices stabilised and bitcoin saw a slight increase. Crude oil prices fell for a second day due to a surge in US crude stockpiles and expectations of unchanged output policies from major producers.