Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund posted a loss of 1.7% in the three months through September, its first quarterly loss in six quarters, hit by a slump in global bond prices and gains in the yen.

The yen is vulnerable to sharp moves and further declines over the next week, with a three-day holiday in Japan set to reduce trading liquidity and investors disappointed that the central bank didn’t offer stronger guidance on the pace of future interest rate hikes.

Japan’s transformation from sleeping economic giant to magnet for growth and investment is set to face its fastest sequence of interest rate hikes since the bursting of Tokyo’s asset bubble more than a generation ago.

Japanese companies posted their largest earnings beat in five years despite soaring oil costs, fueling hopes that strong profit growth across sectors can broaden the market rally beyond AI-related trades.

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund posted a record gain in the three months ended in June as global and domestic stocks rallied, offsetting weakness from government bonds.

Japan’s Topix stock index is poised for its biggest overhaul, with more than 600 companies — over a third of its constituents — likely to be gradually removed under new eligibility rules, according to analysts’ estimates.

Japan’s biggest public pension fund will likely ignore Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama’s call to boost domestic investment, at least in the short run, because of strict rules governing asset allocation and its public mandate.

RBC BlueBay Asset Management remains bullish on Japanese AI-related stocks, expecting the rally to extend into 2027, while trimming near-term risk ahead of a potential slowdown in July and August.

RBC BlueBay Asset Management remains bullish on Japanese AI-related stocks, expecting the rally to extend into 2027, while trimming near-term risk ahead of a potential slowdown in July and August.

Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party is considering measures to make the behavior of activist investors more transparent and to help companies deal with the challenges they create, a lawmaker of the ruling party said in an interview.

Japan’s plan to tighten the threshold for shareholder proposals would hurt retail investors while having little impact on institutional activist investors, said Seth Fischer, the founder of Oasis Management Co.

Japanese firms announced fewer share buyback programs in the fiscal year ended Tuesday, marking the first decline since 2020.

Overseas investors sold the most Japanese stock futures and cash equities since November last week on a net basis, part of a broad risk-off move following the outbreak of the Iran war.

A gauge of fear in Japanese stock markets has surged to the highest level since the Covid crisis in 2020 as a sharp spike in oil prices dampens optimism about the country’s economic outlook and corporate earnings.

Ishikawa is a remote, mountainous prefecture bordering the Sea of Japan, but the fate of a drug store chain whose local roots go back to 1869 has implications for Tokyo’s financial markets hundreds of kilometers away.

Stock investors are positioning for a decisive election victory by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi this Sunday, betting that a strong mandate will allow her to consolidate power and push through expansive fiscal policies.

Stock investors are positioning for a decisive election victory by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi this Sunday, betting that a strong mandate will allow her to consolidate power and push through expansive fiscal policies.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc.’s asset management unit expects the yen to strengthen beyond 150 per dollar after an April rate hike by the Bank of Japan, said Shigeki Muramatsu, the firm’s chief investment officer.

From the start of the year, Japanese stocks surged on bets that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi would cement power through a snap election and then ramp up spending. Then on Tuesday, the so-called Takaichi trade unraveled.

The surge in Japanese stocks, triggered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s snap election plans, may fade if she gets what she wants, as overspending drives up inflation and government borrowing costs.