Japan Stocks End Week Higher Despite BOJ's Rate Hike Commitment

Japanese stocks capped off the week with gains on Friday, even as Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda reiterated his intent to raise interest rates if inflation hits the 2% target.

The Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%, or 153.26 points, closing at 38,364.27.

The cautious stance comes amid ongoing concerns over a possible recession in the US and the BOJ's recent rate hike in July, which had sparked market turbulence.

Ueda linked the early August sell-off to these concerns and hinted that further rate hikes might be delayed if economic and inflation trends deviate from expectations.

Meanwhile, core consumer prices in Japan rose 2.7% in July, marking the third consecutive month of acceleration, following June's 2.6% and May's 2.5%.

The headline CPI remained steady at 2.8%, while the CPI excluding fresh food and energy fell to 1.9% from 2.2%, reinforcing speculation of a possible central bank rate increase.

In corporate updates, Japan Hotel REIT Investment 8985 reported a July occupancy rate of 84%, up 6.1% from the previous year. Its shares closed nearly 1% higher.

Sekisui House Reit 3309 disclosed a $279 million investment in US LLCs to acquire the City Ridge residential asset in Washington DC, aiming to increase its residential property holdings to 70%-100% of its portfolio. Its shares fell 3% at market close.