The Nikkei 225 gave back an 800-point intraday gain to close down 0.20% at 66,131.98 on Thursday, while TOPIX edged higher. BOJ Deputy Governor Himino’s call for timely rate hikes lifted banks, semis split on profit-taking, and the TSE short-selling ratio rose to 45.0%.
As of August 25, 2026, Japan’s 10-year JGB yielded 2.897% and the 40-year 4.060% — prices set through Ministry of Finance auctions, roughly 20 primary dealers, and Bank of Japan operations. Here is how the world’s most-watched sovereign bond market actually works, how to read the curve, and why equity investors abroad track it daily.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.74% to 69,220.25 on Monday, a fifth straight gain led by semiconductors and SoftBank, while the broader TOPIX fell as yields climbed and only 5 of 17 sectors advanced. Short selling ran at 39.4% of TSE turnover.
The Nikkei 225 rose 1.16% to 68,308.59 on Thursday as semiconductor names rallied and banks repriced for a possible near-term BOJ hike. The yen held near 159.39, JGB yields pushed higher across the curve, and the TSE short-selling ratio came in at 41.8%.
The Nikkei 225 closed at 67,524.06 (+0.83%) on Wednesday with banks and semiconductor-equipment names leading, the yen soft at 159.36, and the TSE short-sell ratio at 40.3% — while the Nikkei Volatility Index jumped seven points ahead of Friday’s options SQ.
The BOJ’s Outlook (Tenbo) Report, published at the January, April, July and October policy meetings, moves markets through three channels: revisions to the median core-CPI forecast, the risk-balance language, and named board dissents. Here is how to read each one — and why the forecast table often matters more than the rate decision itself.
SQ (Special Quotation) is the settlement price for Nikkei 225 futures and options, computed from the opening auction prints of all 225 constituents on the second Friday of each contract month. Quarterly ‘major SQ’ Fridays — March, June, September, December — produce some of the largest opening volume prints of the year, and much of that turnover reflects settlement-related hedging rather than fresh directional views. Here is how the mechanics work and how to read the numbers.
Japan’s ‘core CPI’ strips out only fresh food — not energy — and it is the series the Bank of Japan’s 2% target is judged against. Here is how to read headline vs core vs core-core, why Tokyo CPI leads the national print by a month, and how each release feeds through to JGB yields, the yen, and equity sectors.
The Nikkei 225 dropped 1.49% to 61,434 on a semiconductor sell-off sparked by SK Hynix earnings, yet 12 of 17 sectors advanced and Toyota jumped 7.2%. Short-selling eased to 33.6% of turnover ahead of Friday’s BOJ decision.
Japan’s Ministry of Finance decides currency intervention and the Bank of Japan merely executes it, funded from the Foreign Exchange Fund Special Account. Traders track a three-step escalation — scripted verbal warnings, rate checks, then actual yen-buying — and confirm operations after the fact through MOF’s monthly disclosures and BoJ current-account projections. Here is the full mechanism.