Prime Minister Takaichi dissolved Japan’s lower house of parliament on Friday, formally setting the stage for a February 8 general election that will be the shortest campaign in the country’s postwar history. The Nikkei 225, which had rallied sharply in anticipation of the dissolution, experienced intraday volatility as traders took profits on the “Takaichi trade”…
The Bank of Japan held its policy rate steady at 0.75% at its January meeting, a decision that was widely expected but that carried additional significance given Prime Minister Takaichi’s announcement three days earlier that she would dissolve parliament and call a snap election for February 8. The 8-1 vote, with board member Hajime Takata…
SK Hynix’s announcement on Tuesday of a 19 trillion won ($12.9 billion) investment in a new advanced chip packaging facility in Cheongju generated immediate reactions across the Asian semiconductor value chain. SK Hynix shares dipped approximately 2.5% on the session, a response that reflected near-term concern about the scale of capital expenditure relative to existing…
South Korea’s KOSPI closed at an all-time high of 4,624.79 on Monday, adding 0.84% in a session that underscored the market’s transition from a purely AI-driven rally to a broader governance-led rerating. While Samsung and SK Hynix remain the index’s gravitational center, the day’s standout performer was Hyundai Glovis, which surged as much as 7%…
The Japanese yen began 2026 trading near 157 to the U.S. dollar, a level that confounds the straightforward narrative that Bank of Japan rate hikes should strengthen the currency. The BOJ raised its policy rate to 0.75% in December, the highest in three decades, yet the yen has barely responded. The disconnect between a tightening…
