JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF

BBJP

Market cap $16.7B

Japan's three largest banks said on Wednesday they will jointly issue stablecoins during ​the current fiscal year ending in March ‌2027, a sign of growing momentum for digital payments in a country where cash and credit cards remain ​popular.

Japanese investors sold foreign stocks at the fastest pace in about five years in May, as caution over Middle ​East hostilities and concerns that a tech-driven market rally ‌had run too far weighed on sentiment.

Every few years, the investment community rediscovers the case for international equities. A string of outperformance relative to the S&P 500 generates a wave of allocation recommendations, money flows in, and then — historically, more often than not — U.S. exceptionalism reasserts itself and the rotation reverses.

Despite recent foreign-exchange intervention, the Japanese currency has weakened again to near the 160 threshold against the dollar, a level seen as a potential trigger for more government action.

JGBs edged higher in the morning Tokyo session, tracking overnight price gains in U.S. Treasurys.

Japan plans to rebuild between two and five ageing nuclear reactors by the 2040s and as many ​as 11 to 14 by the 2050s as it ‌aims to secure stable power supply, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing a draft policy to be presented on Friday.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group plans to double revenue from its sales and trading unit to 800 billion yen, or about $5 billion, within the next few years as Japan's shift away from ultra-low rates drives demand for market products. Arihiro Nagata, head of the bank's global markets division, told Reuters that the business currently generates about 400 billion yen in revenue.

Asian equities fell on Thursday as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran pushed investors back towards safer assets, even as oil prices eased after Israel and Lebanon moved to implement a ceasefire. MSCI's Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index dropped 1.5%, while S&P 500 e-mini futures slipped 0.5%.

Japanese stocks fell as concerns about the Iran conflict and higher energy costs resurface.

JGBs were mixed in price terms in morning Tokyo session, but may be weighed by BOJ rate-increase prospects.