Tokyo Market Summary: Nikkei average falls for the 4th consecutive day, with yen strengthening across the board. The view is that the Bank of Japan's basic stance on the 'risk of upward pressure on prices in 2025' remains unchanged.

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【Breaking News】The Bank of Japan maintains the policy interest rate at 0.25%.
The Bank of Japan decided to keep the policy interest rate and the unsecured call overnight rate at 0.25% at the monetary policy decision meeting held on the 31st. Following the September meeting, the current situation was maintained. The background includes increasing uncertainties in the US economy ahead of the presidential election and continued instability in the financial markets.keep the policy interest rate and the unsecured call overnight rate at 0.25%It was decided. Following the September meeting, the current situation was maintained. The background includes increasing uncertainties in the US economy ahead of the presidential election and continued instability in the financial markets.

The yen surged across the board, with the dollar falling to the 152.80 yen level. The Bank of Japan's basic stance remains unchanged with views that there is a risk of upward deviation in prices for 25 years.
After the Bank of Japan meeting, there was buying of yen, causing the dollar to fall to the 152.80 yen level. While the Bank of Japan left the policy interest rate unchanged and stated it will continue to closely monitor the trends in the U.S. economy and financial markets, it also mentioned that if the outlook materializes, it will continue to raise the policy interest rate. The statement highlighted that the risk of upward deviation in prices for fiscal year 2025 is greater. The fact that the Bank of Japan mentioned the risk of upward deviation in prices for next year indicates that it is not as dovish, and the market determines that there is no change in its financial normalization stance.

Toyota and NTT have agreed to collaborate on AI and communications, with a 500 billion yen investment.
$Toyota Motor (7203.JP)$ And $Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (9432.JP)$Announced on the 31st, they have agreed to collaborate on AI and communications in the mobility sector to prevent traffic accidents. Both companies anticipate an investment of 500 billion yen by 2030.

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Mitsui O.S.K. Lines soared in the afternoon session, announcing an upward revision of the forecast for net profit for the current fiscal year and year-end dividend estimates, as well as a share buyback of up to 8.28%.
$Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (9104.JP)$Rising sharply in the afternoon session, on the 31st at noon, they announced the implementation of a share buyback program totaling 30 million shares (8.28% of the total issued shares excluding treasury stocks) with a cap of 100 billion yen, along with an upward revision of the year-end dividend estimates and this fiscal year's net profit forecast. These announcements seem to have supported the stock. The stock price turned downward in the morning but recovered.

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Mitsui O.S.K. Lines revises upward its current fiscal year operating profit by 4%, also increasing dividends by 20 yen.

Renesas falls for the first time in four days, with a decrease in revenue and profit for the period from January to September.
$Renesas Electronics (6723.JP)$Falls for the first time in four days. On this day, the consolidated financial results for the period from January to September were announced in the morning. Operating profit decreased by 35.7% to 204.794 billion yen compared to the same period last year, with revenue decreasing by 4.7% year-on-year to 1.558 trillion yen. This has caused dissatisfaction.

Automobile stocks such as Toyota are sluggish in the afternoon session, swaying slightly towards a higher yen after the Bank of Japan maintained its current policy.
$Toyota Motor (7203.JP)$se $Honda Motor (7267.JP)$Moves sluggishly in the afternoon session. The Bank of Japan decided to keep the policy interest rate at 0.25% at the financial policy meeting held on the 30th and 31st. Maintaining the current policy was in line with market consensus, resulting in a limited reaction from automobile stocks immediately after the announcement. However, the dollar-yen exchange rate gradually shifted towards a weaker dollar and stronger yen, with the dollar falling and the yen rising to temporarily reach the 152.80 yen level per dollar. BOJ Governor Kuroda is scheduled to hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m., with market attention focused on his remarks, amid the current trend of a stronger yen, which has become a burden on automobile stocks.

Sumitomo Shoji's final results for the first half show an 11% decrease in profit, and the results for July to September also show an 18% decrease in profit.
$Sumitomo (8053.JP)$ Announced on October 31 after the market (13:00) the financial results (International Financial Reporting Standards=IFRS). The combined net profit for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2025 (April-September) decreased by 10.9% compared to the same period last year, down to 253.9 billion yen. The progress rate against the full-year plan of 530 billion yen remained at 47.9%, falling short of the 5-year average of 69.2%.

Denso rebounds after morning weakness, announcing a share buyback of up to 9.62%
$Denso (6902.JP)$Reversed its decline after a morning drop. The company announced on the 31st that along with the consolidated financial results for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2025 (April-September), it will implement a share buyback with a total acquisition of 280 million shares (9.62% of the total issued shares excluding treasury stock) and a total acquisition amount capped at 450 billion yen, which was seen as significant news.