August 23, 2024 at 02:14 am EDT
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(MT Newswires) -- Japanese stocks capped off the week with gains on Friday, even as Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda reiterated his intent to raise interest rates if inflation hits the 2% target.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%, or 153.26 points, closing at 38,364.27.
The cautious stance comes amid ongoing concerns over a possible recession in the US and the BOJ's recent rate hike in July, which had sparked market turbulence.
Ueda linked the early August sell-off to these concerns and hinted that further rate hikes might be delayed if economic and inflation trends deviate from expectations.
Meanwhile, core consumer prices in Japan rose 2.7% in July, marking the third consecutive month of acceleration, following June's 2.6% and May's 2.5%.
The headline CPI remained steady at 2.8%, while the CPI excluding fresh food and energy fell to 1.9% from 2.2%, reinforcing speculation of a possible central bank rate increase.
In corporate updates, Japan Hotel REIT Investment (TYO:8985) reported a July occupancy rate of 84%, up 6.1% from the previous year. Its shares closed nearly 1% higher.
Sekisui House Reit (TYO:3309) disclosed a $279 million investment in US LLCs to acquire the City Ridge residential asset in Washington DC, aiming to increase its residential property holdings to 70%-100% of its portfolio. Its shares fell 3% at market close.
Sumber : MT Newswires
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