Yen Rallies, Japanese Bonds Surge While Stocks Slump on Tariffs

The yen outperformed all its Group-of-10 peers on Thursday while Japanese bonds rallied after the latest US tariff announcement boosted haven demand. Stocks in Tokyo led declines among major Asian markets.

Japan’s currency gained as much as 1.6% to 146.91 against the dollar, the biggest advance since Nov. 27. That intensified pressure on exporters and sent the nation’s key equities gauges down by more than 4% at one point as investors weighed the impact of Trump’s 24% reciprocal tariffs on Japanese products. The Topix index closed 3.1% lower, bringing its total decline in the past week to almost 9%.