Yen, Japanese Bonds, Stocks All Fall amid Middle East Turmoil

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–The yen, Japanese government bonds and stocks all fell on Thursday morning, following the markets’ closure for a national holiday, amid deepening turmoil in the Middle East. The Japanese currency approached 160.50 per dollar early in the morning, hitting the weakest level in about a year and nine months. At noon, the dollar stood at 160.34-34 yen, up from 159.51-54 yen at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The euro was at 1.1666-1667 dollars, down from 1.1697-1698 dollars, and at 187.08-09 yen, up from 186.58-60 yen. In interdealer bond trading, the yield on the most recent issue of 10-year JGBs, the benchmark for long-term interest rates in Japan, reached 2.520 pct, the highest since February 1999. Bond prices and yields move inversely. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei 225 stock average ended the morning session at 59,304.62, down 612.84 points, or 1.02 pct, from Tuesday’s close. More than 80 pct of the issues on the TSE’s top-tier Prime section fell in the morning. In the currency market, the U.S. currency attracted “buying at a time of emergency” amid uncertainty over peace negotiations between the United States and Iran. The greenback was also backed by a rise in U.S. Treasury yields following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep the federal funds rate unchanged for the third consecutive policy-setting meeting and a subsequent press conference by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]