Bank of Japan in focus
Amari’s comments may have spooked forex traders, for one day at least, but equity-based ETFs such as DXJ and the rival iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (NYSE: EWJ) shrugged off the news for modest gains early Monday.
Those ETFs and related funds could be jolted by another imminent catalyst: Wednesday’s Bank of Japan meeting. The central bank’s latest meeting comes on the heels of some decent economic data. Last week, Japan reported a surge in core machinery orders and a surprisingly strong first-quarter GDP number.
The improvement in Japanese numbers is encouraging, and there is a growing feeling in the market that “Abenomics” is starting to bear fruit, Kenny Fisher reported for Oanda.
Additional stimulus from BoJ probably is not in the cards at this meeting, but any evidence the central bank can offer that Abenomics is showing signs of eradicating deflation could be the next jolt for DXJ and other Japan ETFs.
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this story.