Japan's Nikkei books best week since mid-August, but BOJ caps gains
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Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Friday and logged its best week since mid-August, but gains were capped as the yen strengthened after the Bank of Japan set the stage for future interest rate hikes The tech-heavy Nikkei ended the day up 1.53% at 37,723.91, with chip-sector stocks rallying in line with their U.S. peers. The index advanced 1.57% for the week. The broader Topix index advanced 0.97%. The Nikkei rose as much as 2.21% in morning trade, paring gains as the yen strengthened after the BOJ upgraded its assessment of consumption and highlighted the increased sensitivity of inflation to currency fluctuations. The BOJ held short-term interest rates steady at 0.25%, as was widely expected following hikes in March and July. In the policy statement, officials judged that "private consumption has been on a moderate increasing trend," a more optimistic assessment than the previous view that consumption was "resili...