Nikkei starts up 471 yen high - Bank of Japan will carefully determine whether it is appropriate to raise interest rates this week, as prices are on track to reach the target, but consumption is weak.

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The yen is around 154 yen to the dollar, showing a cautious stance ahead of the policy decision between Japan and the US.
In the morning of the 29th, the yen exchange rate in the Tokyo foreign exchange market remained around 154 yen to the dollar, moving sideways from the previous week's evening. On the 26th, following the announcement of US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), interest rates fell, and the yen reversed its decline from the early hours of overseas trading to rise. As the financial policy decisions of Japan and the USA approach midweek, the focus is on assessing the results cautiously, with short-term trading mainly focused on position adjustments.

The Bank of Japan will carefully determine whether a rate hike this week is appropriate, as prices remain on the target trajectory but consumption shows weakness.
At the monetary policy decision meeting to be held by the Bank of Japan on the 30th and 31st, the key focus will be on whether to decide on a reduction in government bond purchases and an additional rate hike. While prices are following the path towards achieving the 2% target, and consumption lacks strength, a cautious assessment will be made on whether a rate hike at this meeting is appropriate.

Tokyo Steel accelerates its recovery with a positive tone, increasing profit forecasts for the current term due to the effect of price increases, and also receives praise for a share buyback of over 6%.
$Tokyo Steel Manufacturing (5423.JP)$is actively moving, having turned upward for the first time in 9 days at the end of last week, and today it is accelerating its recovery from the starting positive tone. After the end of trading on the 26th last week, they announced a revision to the performance forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2025, increasing the operating profit from the previous estimate of 300 billion yen to 320 billion yen.

Nitto Denko starts with a positive tone, increasing the forecast for a 30% increase in operating profit for the fiscal year ending March 2025, aiming for a significant improvement from the highest ever.
$Nitto Denko (6988.JP)$At the opening, trading did not execute due to large buy orders, and the session started with indicative prices. The company announced a revision of its earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 25 after the close of trading on the 26th of the previous week, significantly increasing operating profit from the previous forecast of 140 billion yen to 180 billion yen (an increase of 29% from the previous year).