ProShares Ultra MSCI Japan

EZJ

Market cap $13.7M

Asian markets opened Thursday with a powerful relief bid, as investors leaned into hopes that tensions in the Middle East may ease enough to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. Japan set the tone, with the Nikkei 225 vaulting through 62,000 for the first time, while broader regional equities also pushed higher.

The yen consolidated against other G-10 and Asian currencies on the first day of trading in Tokyo following Japan's long Golden Week holidays.

Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to hold talks in Canberra ​on Monday with Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, ‌at which energy security and rare earths cooperation are likely to be high on the agenda.

Concerns about high oil prices are adding to inflation fears in Japan, as the BOJ just moved to rescue the yen from a roughly 40-year low.

Japan has signed a $2.2 billion loan agreement for the first batch of ​projects under its $550 billion U.S. investment ‌pledge, kicking off financing tied to a trade deal that cut U.S. tariffs on Japanese ​imports to 15%.

The Japanese yen surged on Thursday, following stark warnings from Tokyo officials, including the finance ​minister, that intervention to prop up the currency ‌could be imminent.

Japan's two biggest airlines, ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines (JAL), said on Thursday the Middle East conflict is keeping fuel ​costs elevated and the outlook uncertain.

Japan's government is considering reviving subsidies for electricity and natural gas for three months from July, a source with ​direct knowledge of the matter said, as it braces for ‌higher energy costs amid conflict in the Middle East.

JGBs fall in early Tokyo trade, tracking overnight price declines in U.S. Treasurys. Both JGBs and Treasurys tend to move in tandem. JGB prices could also be weighed by concerns over higher domestic inflation stemming from rising oil prices amid ongoing Middle East conflict. “The situation in the Middle East is adding to a high level of uncertainty,” InTouch Capital Markets' analysts team says in commentary.

The Japanese government is considering a "golden share" plan ​for Tokyo Electric Power ‌Co (Tepco) that would give it veto rights over key decisions as ​the utility seeks partners, ​TV Tokyo reported on Tuesday.