News
Tuesday, September 09, 2025
What’s happening: Japan’s stocks hit record highs this morning, after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation.
What happened: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose for the second straight session, with tech stocks leading the gains.
The Japanese yen also moved higher against the US dollar this morning.
Why it matters: Japan’s Prime Minister announced plans to resign on Sunday, following rising disagreements within the ruling party and pressure following his defeat in the national elections last year.
Japan finalised a bilateral trade agreement with the US last week to cut auto tariffs on Japanese vehicles from 27.5% to 15%. US-made vehicles will be allowed to enter Japan without further testing.
Japan’s tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said that US tariffs on Japanese goods, including vehicles and auto parts, are scheduled to be lowered by September 16.
Meanwhile, data released on Monday showed that Japan’s service sector index surged to 46.7 in August, from 45.2 in July. The latest figure marks the highest level since January.
Japan’s economy expanded by 2.2% year-over-year in the second quarter, topping the initial reading of 1.0%. This represents a significant acceleration from the 0.3% growth reported in the previous quarter. With this, Japan recorded annual growth for the fifth straight quarter.
Data also showed that Japan’s current account surplus had shrunk to ¥2,684.3 billion in July, from ¥3,319.7 billion in the year-ago period.
Tech stocks were among the top performers this morning, with shares of Advantest, Tokyo Electron and Disco recording gains. The financial, industrial, and consumer sectors also lent support to the market.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.9% to breach the 44,000 resistance level this morning, while the broader Topix index rose 0.4% to 3,150, with both indices hitting new record highs.
What to watch: Investors await the announcement of Japan’s next Prime Minister and there are hopes of the new premier introducing several fiscal stimulus measures to provide a boost to the economy.
Data on Reuters Tankan Index (0300 UAE Time), PPI (0350 UAE Time) and BSI Large Manufacturing (0350 UAE Time) will be released on Thursday. The Reuters Tankan index for Japanese manufacturers, which rose to +9 in August, is expected to climb further to 10 in September. Producer prices in Japan, which rose 2.6% year-over-year in July following 2.9% in the previous month, are expected to surge by 2.7% in August.
Context: The AUD/USD forex pair gained this morning amid weakness in the US dollar.
Details: Data released this morning showed Australia’s NAB Business Confidence Index declined to a three-month low of 4 in August, from 8 in the previous month, which was the strongest since August 2022.
Australia’s Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index also fell 3.1% to 95.4 in September, after a 5.7% gain in August when the index reached the highest mark in 3.5 years.
Meanwhile, data released on Monday showed that building permits in Australia fell by 8.2% to 15,769 units in July, while private house approvals rose by 1.1% to 9,288 units in July, following a 1.9% decline in the previous month.
Weakness in the US dollar lent support to the AUD/USD forex pair this morning. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, fell more than 0.1% to 97.34.
The AUD/USD pair gained 0.2% to 0.6604 this morning, while the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.46% to 8,809.30.
What to watch: Investors await the release of economic data on consumer inflation expectations (0500 UAE Time) from Australia on Thursday. Consumer inflation expectations in Australia, which eased to 3.9% in August from 4.7% in the previous month, are expected to remain at 3.9% in September.
Other Markets: US trading indices closed higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones index, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 up by 0.25%, 0.21% and 0.46%.
US President Donald Trump said he is ready for the second phase of sanctions on Russia due to its war with Ukraine. The news sent the RUB/USD pair lower in forex trading this morning.
The Philippines’ annual manufacturing production fell to 1.3% in July, from 1.2% in the previous month, exerting pressure on the PHP/USD forex pair.
UK’s retail sales surged 2.9% year-over-year in August, following a 1.8% gain in the previous month. The latest reading surpassing market estimates of 2% sent the GBP/USD pair higher in forex trading this morning.
Chile’s trade surplus shrank to $0.91 billion in August, from $1.20 billion in the year-ago month, exerting pressure on the CLP/USD forex pair.
Ireland’s AIB construction PMI fell to 45.9 in August, from 47.1 in the previous month. However, the EUR/USD pair rose in forex trading this morning.
Spain’s 3-month Letras auction (1240 UAE Time) and 9-month Letras auction (1240 UAE Time), UK’s Treasury Gilt 2043 auction (1300 UAE Time), Germany’s 10-year Bund/g auction (1330 UAE Time), South Africa’s GDP growth rate (1330 UAE Time), Mexico’s inflation rate (1600 UAE Time), auto exports (1600 UAE Time) and auto production (1600 UAE Time), as well as US NFIB business optimism index (1400 UAE Time), Redbook index (1655 UAE Time), nonfarm payrolls annual revision (1800 UAE Time), NY Fed Treasury purchases 22.5 to 30 yrs (1830 UAE Time) and 3-year Note auction (2100 UAE Time).