ProShares Ultra MSCI Japan

EZJ

Market cap $13.8M

EasyJet PLC (LSE:EZJ) has given private equity group Castlelake four more days to decide whether to make a firm takeover offer, bringing its deadline into line with rival bidder Apollo. Castlelake and Apollo must now confirm by 5pm on Friday, 7 August whether they intend to make binding offers for the airline or walk away.

The Nikkei 225 Index retreated by over 1.52% on Monday as investors reacted to several events, including the Japanese yen rescue and the upcoming corporate earnings. It dropped to 63,390, down by 12.9% from its peak this year.

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged Friday as it assesses how its latest interest-rate increase is affecting the economy and price trends.

The decision comes as speculation continues to swirl around whether the Bank of Japan will hike rates at a faster pace.

The yen's focus was on BOJ Gov. Ueda's guidance at his post-meeting press conference today, following suspected yen-buying intervention by Japanese authorities on Thursday, StoneX said.

Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday as investors assessed the fallout from the AI sell-off, the Federal Reserve's rate outlook and renewed tensions in the Middle East. The MSCI Asia-Pacific gauge excluding Japan was little changed after swinging between gains and losses.

The Hang Seng Index has outperformed its major Asian peers this year, even as the Kospi and Nikkei 225 have come under pressure. The index has rebounded nearly 14% from its lowest level this year, while the Nikkei 225 and Kospi have fallen about 15% and 40%, respectively, from their year-highs.

The Nikkei 225 Index tilted upwards on Monday, even as top technology stocks declined. It rose by 27 basis points to 64,780, up a bit from this month's low of 62,646.

Japanese stocks were higher as fears about a further escalation of the Iran conflict ease for now.

This is the first rise in core inflation since March, and was in line with the1.6% growth expected by economists polled by Reuters.