Nikkei average rallies to highest since August 2022

Japan's benchmark Nikkei average opened up 0.90% and scored a high of 2,9143.89 on Monday, while the broader Topix gained 0.63% at 2,070.37.

The move follows US stocks gaining on Friday and after the Bank of Japan kept to its easing policy which sent the Yen lower to a 7-week low against the US Dollar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 272 points, or 0.8%, to 34,098.16, the S&P 500 gained 34.13 points, or 0.83%, to 4,169.48 and the Nasdaq Composite added 84.35 points, or 0.69%, to 12,226.58.

The BoJ kept monetary policy unchanged and said it would “patiently” continue with monetary easing. Also, Governor Kazuo Ueda said the Japanese economy faces a bigger risk from premature tightening than from a delay. The members voted 9-0 to maintain its policy balance rate at 0.1% and keep its 10-year JGB yield target at about 0%. The BoJ also cut its 2023 Japan Gross Domestic Product estimate to 1.4% from a previous estimate of 1.7% and raised its 2023 core Consumer Price Index estimate to 1.8% from 1.6%. Meanwhile, instead of tweaking forward guidance, BoJ removed it entirely and this puts the focus on data. BoJ also decided to embark on a broad perspective review of policy for a relatively long 1 to 1.5 years, reviewing policies used over the longer term.