Overview

• The Nikkei finished at 45,493.66, up 447.85 points, setting a new closing high.
• Buying broadened after U.S. indexes hit records on expectations of earlier Federal Reserve rate cuts.
• The index jumped more than 700 points in early trade, with the morning close at 45,729.33.
• The BoJ’s newly announced ETF sales initially knocked shares last week, but investors expect a very gradual pace after Governor Ueda noted a full exit would take over 100 years by simple arithmetic.
• The yen traded in a tight band, roughly ¥147.67 to ¥148.13 per dollar from late Tokyo into early New York, as markets also tracked the start of the LDP leadership race and its policy implications.