Snapshot: The Nikkei 225 closed at a fresh record high of 69,902, gaining 0.72% on Wednesday as stellar domestic export growth and digestion of yesterday’s Bank of Japan policy pivot draw sustained capital into Tokyo. May exports surged 17% year-on-year, providing fundamental justification for the BoJ’s decision to hike its policy rate to 1.0%. This domestic resilience is absorbing global currency volatility and keeping the structural bid for Japanese equities firmly intact ahead of the New York open.
- Key Level: The index is testing the psychological 70,000 barrier, heavily supported by a semiconductor-led rally where Lasertec rocketed 13.2% and Tokyo Electron gained 2.5% following the blowout trade print.
- NY Watch-Item: The upcoming 08:30 ET US macro prints present the near-term risk; any soft data will likely drag US Treasury yields below current levels (10Y at 4.47%, 2Y at 4.07%), further boosting global growth-stock valuations and Japanese tech exporters.
Bias into NY: We are structurally bullish on the Nikkei 225, targeting a clean breakout above 70,200 as robust domestic corporate earnings and improved yen stability offset any pre-data positioning on Wall Street.