Nikkei 225 closes lower by 0.29% at 20,942.53

Tokyo’s main index closes lower but it belies underlying risk sentiment

Nikkei 30-05

Asian stocks may be trading lower on the day but it’s more of a reflection of overnight trading in Europe and US because sentiment is faring slightly better in general today. US equity futures are trading up by 0.2% and European equity futures are also signaling slightly more positive tones at the open later.

More importantly, bond yields are holding steady for the most part with US 10-year Treasury yields up 0.5 bps at 2.266% currently. That is helping USD/JPY inch higher towards 109.70 but do be aware that there are also large expiries resting at 109.75 today that could help to limit gains alongside swing region resistance.