The Japanese Nikkei index fell at the end of Friday’s session, retreating from the peak it reached in eight months and touched it earlier in the session, as investors refrained from executing large trading operations before the meeting of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy committee next week.
The index fell 0.33 percent to 28,564.37 points at the close, after rising to its highest level since August 26 at 28,778.37 points. The index is on track to achieve gains for the fourth consecutive month. The last time he walked the same path was in 2021.
The broader Topix index fell 0.20 percent to 2,035.57 points at the close, but recorded gains for the second week in a row.
“Investors’ anticipation of the outcome of the BOJ’s monetary policy meeting limited the Nikkei’s gains… but the trend that investors seek to buy undervalued stocks remains unchanged,” said Yugo Tsuboi, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities.
The Bank of Japan will hold a two-day meeting next week. Nearly 90 percent of economists polled by Reuters expected that the new central bank governor, Kazuo Ueda, would not begin to back down from the bank’s easing monetary policy.
Official data showed Friday that consumer prices in Japan (annual inflation) rose by 3.1 percent in March, matching last month’s numbers and in line with expectations, amid slowing inflation from its highest level in four decades.
The figure, which excludes volatile fresh food prices but includes energy costs, was in line with market expectations and comes after the government introduced relief measures for high energy bills.
Fast Retailing, owner of the Uniqlo brand, recorded the largest decline for companies listed on the Nikkei index, its share fell 1.54 percent, and Soft Bank Group, which invests in the technology sector, fell 1.73 percent.
Precision machinery maker Disco Co rose 14 percent to become the top gainer on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, after posting a record annual operating profit.
