{"id":37295,"date":"2025-12-19T15:22:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T07:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/?p=37295"},"modified":"2025-12-19T15:22:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T07:22:17","slug":"nikkei-surges-after-boj-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/analysis\/nikkei-surges-after-boj-hike\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikkei Surges After BOJ Hike"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"559\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/03\/image_fx-86-1024x559.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20961\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Points:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>BOJ hikes policy rate to 0.75%<\/strong>, the highest in over 30 years<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nikkei adds 276 pts<\/strong>, reversing two-day losses as chip stocks surge<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>FOMC caution supports global risk appetite, while yen slips modestly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Bank of Japan raised interest rates to 0.75%<\/strong> on Friday, marking a long-awaited exit from ultra-loose policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the hike had been widely anticipated, traders welcomed the move as a sign of confidence in Japan\u2019s economic recovery \u2014 <strong>especially with core inflation holding steady at 3.0%<\/strong> and exports outperforming forecasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Japan\u2019s key inflation gauge stayed at 3% for a second month, signaling sustained price pressure hours before the Bank of Japan is widely expected to boost borrowing costs for the first time since January <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DdJRsM7dw1\">https:\/\/t.co\/DdJRsM7dw1<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bloomberg (@business) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/business\/status\/2001803799048954235?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 18, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Surprisingly, the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/a1goyPQ05d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">yen weakened modestly<\/a><\/strong> after the decision, as markets focused on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hFrsUeSiQa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">Governor Kazuo Ueda\u2019s comments<\/a><\/strong> suggesting the terminal rate could range between 1.0% to 2.5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Traders are now reassessing whether the BOJ could deliver <strong>more than one hike in 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tech Stocks Power Nikkei Bounce<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Chipmaker <strong>Advantest<\/strong> (+1.59%) and robotics giant <strong>Fanuc<\/strong> (+2.68%) led Friday\u2019s gains, mirroring strength on the <strong>Nasdaq<\/strong>, which continues to benefit from <strong>AI tailwinds and cooling US inflation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Nasdaq recovered to close higher while the S&amp;P 500 and the Dow closed lower, impacted by declines in healthcare and energy stocks. Investors evaluated delayed economic data to gauge the Federal Reserve&#39;s monetary policy outlook for next year <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eENPc0aSch\">https:\/\/t.co\/eENPc0aSch<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qMfu96423r\">pic.twitter.com\/qMfu96423r<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Reuters (@Reuters) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Reuters\/status\/2001087448554856862?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 17, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A surprise drop in US core CPI to 2.7% also lifted risk sentiment globally, though Fed officials have remained cautious on the pace of rate cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, global tech optimism is spilling into Asia, with <strong>Taiwan and South Korea\u2019s indices both rising over 1%<\/strong>, and Japan\u2019s <strong>Topix index edging up 0.05%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Inflows to a group of exchange-traded funds tracking the CSI A500 Index surged to a fresh record on Thursday, with the strong activity leaving traders perplexed <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/stsLkuTcSZ\">https:\/\/t.co\/stsLkuTcSZ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bloomberg (@business) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/business\/status\/2001860625404772534?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 19, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Technical Analysis<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Nikkei 225 is consolidating near <strong>49,511<\/strong>, up <strong>0.56%<\/strong> on the day, maintaining its overall bullish structure despite a slowdown in momentum since the November peak at <strong>52,669<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The price action remains comfortably above the long-term support zone, and the 30-day moving average is still trending upward, suggesting that bulls retain structural control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/03\/0abb0726-855c-4ed9-a2c9-daa6add716f9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-37296\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, the MACD shows signs of bearish divergence, with the histogram printing weaker bars and the MACD line drifting beneath the signal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Price has been chopping sideways through most of December, and a clean breakout above <strong>50,000<\/strong> may be needed to resume the rally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conversely, a break below the <strong>47,000\u201346,500<\/strong> region could trigger broader correction risks into early 2026. For now, traders may wait for confirmation as the index tests key range boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The BOJ\u2019s rate hike, once feared as a market drag, is now being read as a sign of policy normalisation \u2014 not panic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With chip stocks surging and the Nasdaq offering global tailwinds, the <strong>Nikkei remains well-positioned into year-end<\/strong>, especially if BOJ tightening proves gradual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Learn more about trading <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/indices\/\">Indices<\/a><\/strong><strong> on VT Markets <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/Insights\/\">here<\/a><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Nikkei 225 rallied 1.3% on Friday to 49,511.49, rebounding sharply as traders digested the Bank of Japan\u2019s historic rate hike. &#8211; vtmarkets.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":20961,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[11,30],"class_list":["post-37295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-indices","tag-nikkei"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}