FX.co ★ Japanese Shares Rise as Fed Holds Rates

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 1% to climb back above 62,000 on Thursday, snapping a two-day losing streak as investors reacted to the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh stressed that the pause should not be seen as policy inaction, while three FOMC members dissented in favor of a rate increase amid persistent inflation concerns.

At the same time, markets continued to grapple with a steep selloff in semiconductor stocks following another overnight decline in US chipmakers. Despite the weakness abroad, Japanese semiconductor names rebounded sharply, with notable gains in Kioxia Holdings (2.7%), Advantest (15.7%), Tokyo Electron (4.9%), Murata Manufacturing (4.4%), and Taiyo Yuden (3.6%).

In corporate news, Arm Holdings, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group, dropped nearly 6% in after-hours trading after issuing a sales forecast that fell short of investor expectations.