Overview
- Tokyo’s benchmark set a new intraday record above 58,000 on Feb. 12, extending a run of record highs driven by expectations for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s expansionary fiscal stance.
- Investors cited plans such as a temporary zero consumption tax on food and increased public investment, with overseas buying concentrated in AI, semiconductor and defense shares.
- The dollar–yen pair finished New York trade near ¥153.23–33 and later hovered in the low ¥153s, with moves shaped by the China-related Treasury reports and shifting U.S.–Japan rate differentials.
- U.S. stocks slipped as the Dow fell 66 points to 50,121 on Feb. 11 after January payrolls rose about 130,000, a stronger reading that cooled near-term rate-cut expectations and weighed on risk appetite.
- Gold futures rebounded to $5,098.50 on COMEX, supported by heightened U.S.–Iran tensions after President Trump said he was considering sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East.