Japan’s Nikkei Falls on Hawkish BOJ Hold
2026-04-28 07:01
By
Jam Kaimo Samonte
1 min. read
The Nikkei 225 Index declined 0.6% to below 60,200 on Tuesday, pulling back from recent record highs after the Bank of Japan left its policy rate unchanged at 0.75% for a fourth straight meeting, in line with expectations.
The central bank also raised its inflation outlook while lowering its FY2026 growth projections to reflect the economic impact of the Middle East conflict.
Notably, three of the nine policy board members advocated for a rate hike, underscoring growing concern over inflationary pressures linked to the Iran war.
Geopolitical developments remained in focus after Iran submitted a new proposal to the US, though disagreements over Tehran’s nuclear program continue to pose a major hurdle.
On the corporate side, Advantest dropped around 5% despite strong earnings.
SoftBank Group tumbled nearly 10% amid renewed concerns over the artificial intelligence sector.
Other notable decliners included Hitachi (-5.8%), Tokyo Electron (-4.1%), and Fanuc Corp (-4.1%).