Tokyo ward-area CPI is released at 8:30 a.m. JST in the final week of each month — covering that same month — roughly three to four weeks before Japan’s nationwide CPI. Here is why the gap exists, how closely Tokyo tracks the national print, and how BoJ-watchers and JGB markets read the number first.
Tokyo Stock Exchange opening and closing prices come from itayose call auctions that suspend time priority and cross all orders at a single price; everything in between trades zaraba, under strict price-then-time priority. Here is how both engines work, why special quotes and daily price limits can leave a marketable order unfilled, and how the monthly SQ settlement is built from each constituent’s initial price on settlement day.
Nikkei 225 futures trade nearly 24 hours across Osaka, SGX, and CME, and Tokyo’s 9:00 cash open typically converges toward the basis-adjusted overnight futures level. How each venue hands off to the next, how to compute fair-value basis from short-term yen funding, and why the quarterly roll is not the same as SQ.
Japan’s Services PPI (SPPI) lands around the 25th–26th of each month at 8:50 a.m. Tokyo time on the Bank of Japan’s website, and it is the BoJ’s cleanest read on wage-driven ‘homegrown’ inflation. Here is what it measures versus CPI and the goods PPI, which labor-intensive components to watch, and how JGB yields, the yen, and bank stocks typically react to a beat or miss.
The Nikkei 225 fell 1.93% to 64,011 on major SQ day as semiconductor names bore the brunt of a hot US PPI print and rising global yields. The TSE short-selling ratio climbed to 44.9%, the top of its recent range, while financials and autos quietly advanced.
The Nikkei 225 fell 1.70% to 65,269.33 on Tuesday as a seven-month-high yen hammered autos and chip names. SoftBank Group jumped 5.45% against the tape. Short selling ran at 42.4% of TSE turnover, and the Nikkei VI spiked above 32 ahead of Friday’s major SQ.
The Bank of Japan’s policy statement has no scheduled release time — it usually hits during the Tokyo lunch break, and a late release has historically hinted at live debate. The governor’s press conference follows at 15:30 JST, just as cash equities close. Here is the full meeting-day sequence, plus what the Summary of Opinions and the minutes are each actually for.
Japan’s market-moving wage number is not the headline: scheduled (base) pay at common establishments is the series analysts watch most closely for BOJ policy signals, and sustained growth near 3% is a widely used — though unofficial — benchmark for rate hikes. Here is how to read the MHLW Monthly Labour Survey — nominal vs real wages, bonus noise, sample revisions, and how shunto results flow into the monthly prints.
The NT ratio — the Nikkei 225 divided by TOPIX — is Tokyo’s cheapest leadership gauge, and it was on display on August 21, 2026, when the Nikkei fell while the broad market rose. Here is how to compute it, why price weighting lets a handful of high-priced stocks like Fast Retailing move the spread, what high and low readings signal about market leadership, and how professionals trade the NT spread with OSE futures.
The Nikkei 225 closed Friday at 68,713.80 (+0.59%) on options SQ day, led by Sony, Nintendo and SoftBank Group, while short-term JGB yields climbed on growing speculation of a BOJ move as early as September. The TSE short-selling ratio came in at 40.9% — mid-range, but still defensive.