CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (NYSEArca: FXY) nosedived more than 2% on Thursday after the Bank of Japan unveiled a bold new plan to fight deflation including new easing measures that stunned the market.
The central bank said it plans to double its holdings of government bonds and ETFs the next two years.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he will do whatever it takes to meet the 2% inflation target.
“Our stance is to take all the policy measures imaginable at this point to achieve the 2% price stability target in two years,” Kuroda said in a Dow Jones Newswires report.
The BOJ bombshell rippled into Japanese stocks, which were sharply higher Thursday. The iShares MSCI Japan (NYSEArca: EWJ) vaulted 4.8% before the opening bell while WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity (NYSEArca: DXJ) soared 6.3%. DXJ enjoyed a stronger rally because it hedges its currency exposure to the Japanese yen.