Japanese Stocks Rise, Long-Term Bonds Stabilize

Tokyo: Japanese stocks hit record highs on Monday, while long-term bonds reversed their earlier decline. The yen had earlier fallen to a record low against the Swiss franc but reversed course after Tokyo warned of possible intervention in the currency market. According to Yemen News Agency, the Nikkei 225 index closed 3.9 percent higher at a record high of 56,363.94 points. The broader Topix index rose 2.3 percent to a record high of 3,783.57 points. In the debt market, 30-year Japanese government bonds initially fell, pushing yields up 6.5 basis points to 3.615 percent. However, this move quickly faded, and the yield ultimately rose by one basis point to 3.56 percent. The yen fell earlier on Monday, hitting a record low of 203.30 yen per Swiss franc and dropping 0.4% against the euro and 0.5% against the dollar. However, the yen quickly reversed course after top finance official Atsushi Mimura said the government was "closely monitoring currency movements with the utmost importance," hinting at possible in tervention to buy yen. In recent trading, the yen rose about 0.5% to 156.41 against the dollar, 0.2% to 185.38 against the euro, and 0.2% to 202.18 against the Swiss franc.