Japan Financial News

Japan has reported its exports grew at an 11% annual pace in February while imports declined slightly, leaving a surplus after two straight months of deficits as worries grow about President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes

JSW Steel and SAIL among others are likely to gain attention on Wednesday, March 19, after the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) recommended a 12% safeguard duty on the import of certain steel products. Due to this update, the shares of other steel companies like Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, NMDC Steel, and Jindal Stainless may also attract investor attention.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) shares are set to gain investor attention on Wednesday after the company announced its partnership with BluJ Aerospace and KPIT Technologies for various projects. Additionally, BPCL also informed the launch of the 'Emerge' cohort under the BPCL Ankur Fund to support startups.

Total exports rose 11.4% year-on-year in February, data showed, less than a median market forecast for a 12.1% increase and following a 7.2% rise in January. The threat of Trump's aggressive tariffs has led some Japanese companies such as Sony Group to stockpile inventory in the United States, a step that could have temporarily boosted overall export volumes. Exports to the U.S. rose 10.5% in February from a year earlier, while those to China were up 14.1%, the data showed. Shipments to China may have been affected by more working days last month, with the Lunar New Year holiday ending earlier than usual this year.

Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the Federal Reserve later in the day. Overnight, Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza and killed more than 400 people, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to reach an agreement on a Ukraine ceasefire and Germany's outgoing parliament approved plans for a massive spending surge.

Shohei Ohtani, who won the third BBWAA Most Valuable Player Award of his career last year, kicked off the 2025 MLB season in style as Los Angeles Dodgers secured a 4-1 win against Chicago Cubs in the opening game of the Tokyo Series on Tuesday. Reigning World Series champion Dodgers are among the favourites this time as well. The game in Tokyo started early for MLB fans in the US, who had to get up early to catch the first pitch that was through shortly after 5 AM ET, Sports Illustrated reported.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Berkshire Hathaway stock continued its strong 2025 advance Monday, hitting a record high and putting it way ahead of the S&P 500 index so far this year. Berkshire’s Class A stock rose 1.8% to $784,957 while the Class B shares ended at $523.01, up 1.6%.

euro and other major peers on Tuesday as investors grappled with the potential economic impact of growing global trade tensions. Fears that U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff policies could trigger a broader economic slowdown has undermined the greenback amid a string of soggy sentiment surveys.

Many short-term positioning and momentum indicators suggest Wall Street was oversold, so in that light a continuation of the recovery is understandable. Chances for a truce in the Ukraine-Russia war, slender as they may be, are also lending some support to risky assets at the margins.

inferencing hardware, said Abhijit Dubey, global CEO of the Japanese data centre giant NTT DATA. “I think it (impact) is far more fundamental. It demonstrated that the unit cost economics are significantly lower from a training and inferencing standpoint. Number two, it demonstrated that open source is viable. And number three, that there's a lot more value in inferencing than just pure training.” However, despite the Chinese disruption, NTT has not recalibrated capex plans for data centres and the industry is undergoing a boom cycle, he said. Globally, NTT has committed to invest 8 trillion Yen ($59 billion) between FY2023 to FY2027 in data centres and AI.

Warren Buffett's love for Japanese stocks grows fonder even as he increasingly sells U.S. equities.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. UBS said it will start the most complex part of its Credit Suisse integration in the coming months, as the banking giant deals with uncertainty amid global trade tensions and Swiss proposals to tighten capital rules. The Swiss banking group will begin the migration of former Credit Suisse client accounts in Switzerland to the UBS platform in the second quarter, it said in its annual report published Monday.

Nikkei share average surged nearly 1% on Monday, fuelled by widespread gains, as investor sentiment was lifted by a sharp rise in U.S. stocks at the end of last week. The Nikkei rose 0.9% to end at 37,396.52, its highest closing point in more than a week, while the broader Topix finished 1.2% higher at 2,748.12.

Cameron Brandt, Director of Research, EPFR Global, says it is now the turn of US equity funds to see something of a reversion to the mean. The free pass they got in the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump's election, if not revoked, is certainly being scrutinised. The past 10 days have not been terrible for emerging markets. There has been a pickup of flows into dedicated Europe and Japan equity funds. In India, valuations are starting to get to levels where people will be comfortable again and maybe even see an upside. The last time we spoke, there was only bad news for emerging markets like India. When do you think there will be only good news for emerging markets like India? Cameron Brandt: It is certainly not quite as gloomy for emerging markets as when we last talked. But the emerging markets that are doing best at the moment are the ones perceived as being geared to Europe. We have had a fairly bumpy period, but it is Europe that has been catching the attention and flows. That said, the reallocation away from emerging markets definitely seems to be slowing. It has not stopped, but there are certainly points of life in the general universe and it is now the turn of US equity funds to see something of a reversion to the mean.

«Nifty 50 is broadly going to traverse something like 10% to 12% EPS growth. So, from here, 22,000 to expect 24,500 to 25,000 between December 25 and March 26 is certainly not out of place. So, from that point of view, a 10% to 12% Nifty gain is purely doable,» says Manish Sonthalia, Emkay Investment Managers. So, tell us a sum and summary. With so much of analysis you have done, tell us three stocks to buy. We will keep it very simple. You give me three stocks, one question and then I will let you go to a meeting. Manish Sonthalia: So, stock recommendations not doable because of regulations but look we have priced in most of the negative, that is one and whatever micro details you need to know about India is already known in public domain. There is nothing new to analyse just yet as things stand. We do not know all the information regarding tariffs, etc.

trade policies and a run of soft macroeconomic data. The euro stood not far from a five-month peak after German parties on Friday agreed on a fiscal deal that could boost defence spending and revive growth in Europe's largest economy.

market’s recent decline as healthy. Stocks rose in Australia, Japan and South Korea in early Monday trade, with futures in Hong Kong also pointing to a higher open. The gains came after the S&P 500 jumped 2.1% Friday as the government avoided a shutdown, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 advanced 2.1%. The Golden Dragon index rose 2.7% with Chinese authorities set to announce measures to boost consumption on Monday. The dollar was steady.

NASA astronauts — Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore — who have been stuck in orbit for months. The newly arrived SpaceX crew that docked with the ISS was greeted by both humans and foreign faces. Crew-9 commander Nick Hague playfully wore a grey alien mask aboard the ISS while his crew awaited the arrival of astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. As other crew members worked to prepare the capsule for deboarding, Hague was spotted on NASA’s live stream gliding through the space station in his mask and black hoodie, occasionally pausing to gesture toward something off-camera. He was in position, mask on, for the hugs, smiles and handshakes that greeted JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers from NASA, and Kirill Peskov from Roscosmos. ALSO READ: Sunita Williams' much-awaited homecoming: A look at NASA astronaut's career in space exploration, milestones and awards Hague’s antics caught the internet by storm as users took to the comment section to poke some fun at the unexpected sight.

Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) to bring home NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded in space since last June. Just over a day after blasting off, a SpaceX crew capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, delivering the replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts. The SpaceX Crew-10 members joined the station's Expedition 72 crew after the hatch opened at 12:35am ET on Sunday beginning a long-duration space research mission. SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission successfully docked at the International Space Station on Sunday morning, setting the stage to finally retrieve the two NASA astronauts who have been stuck in orbit for months. The Space-X space capsule docked at the ISS at 12:05 a.m. EST Sunday morning after lifting off Friday from Florida. Video feed showing Crew-10’s dramatic docking onto the ISS was shared live on X. ALSO READ: Sunita Williams' homecoming: SpaceX Crew Dragon opens hatch with ISS to reach stranded astronauts

Skoda Auto's India unit is targeting 2026 sales of more than 100,000 vehicles, which will be more than twice its annual sales in recent years. That number may still seem small when compared with the sales volume of Maruti Suzuki, the local market leader that sells one and a half times as many cars and SUVs each month in India. But in a market where European automakers have long been pushed to the sidelines by their Japanese, Korean and local rivals, the Skoda target is a formidable one. Skoda and other European mass-market brands like Volkswagen, Renault and Citroen are trying to carve out a space for themselves in the crowded but fast-growing Indian market through strategic positioning and niche offerings with premium features, latest technology and competitive pricing. «The Indian automotive landscape is experiencing nuanced shifts, even with Japanese brands holding a strong lead. These shifts signal growing opportunities for global players to respond to evolving consumer preferences,» said Ravi Bhatia, president at Jato Dynamics.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stuck on the orbital lab for nine months. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission lifted off at 7:03 p.m. EDT on Friday from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew-10 team will spend approximately six months aboard the station. The crew members include NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. As their mission mascot, the astronauts selected a crocheted origami crane—a symbol of unity. Highlighting the crew's international diversity, McClain expressed their shared vision: «Crew-10 chooses to go together in peace because you cannot be great without the greatness of others,» she said.