Stocks, foreign exchange, interest rates: The Nikkei average at the closing was down for the 5th consecutive day, the dollar rose to over 155 yen, and government bond futures fell.

<15:35> Nikkei closes lower for the 5th consecutive day, remains subdued in the second half due to Bank of Japan's unchanged policy.
In the Tokyo stock market, the Nikkei closed trading down 268.13 yen compared to the previous business day at 38,813.58 yen, marking the 5th consecutive day of decline. Amid concerns over the slowdown in the pace of rate cuts at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the U.S. stock market fell, leading to a bearish sentiment. However, the Bank of Japan refrained from additional rate hikes during the monetary policy meeting, which was well received, causing a shift to a stronger dollar and weaker yen, resulting in a less pronounced decline in the second half.

<15:42> Dollar rises to over 155 yen, volatile price movements after the start of Bank of Japan Governor's press conference.
In the afternoon after the Bank of Japan Governor's press conference started around 3:30 p.m., the dollar temporarily fell below the 155 yen level, but buying pressure increased and it rapidly surged to over 155 yen, resulting in volatile price movements. Governor Ueda mentioned in the press conference that the reason for postponing the interest rate hike this time was that he needed 'a little more information' about wage trends.

<15:07> Government bond futures fall, long-term interest rate at 1.08%, awaiting Governor's press conference due to Bank of Japan's decision to postpone interest rate hikes.
The central March contract for government bond futures closed lower at 142.14 yen, down 24 sen from the previous trading day. The yield on the newly issued 10-year government bond (long-term interest rate) increased by 2.0 basis points to 1.080%. As expected, the additional interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan was postponed, and there is a strong sentiment in the market awaiting the upcoming press conference.
Today's government bond futures faced headwinds from the recent rise in US interest rates following the Federal Open Market Committee's 'hawkish rate cut', resulting in a sell-off. In the early stages, futures briefly hit the lowest price in 11 and a half years since June 2013 for the central limit month, but later stabilized the decline.