Japanese Stocks Steady Ahead of Monetary Policy Decisions: The main Japanese stock index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended
the week’s first session on Monday was relatively stable,
as investors awaited the Bank of Japan’s upcoming monetary policy decision later this week.
This comes after the anticipated monetary policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which was expected a day earlier.

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The European Central Bank

Japanese Stocks

The UK Manufacturing Sector

Lagarde: ECB Ready for Further Rate Cuts as Inflation Cools

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde stated that the bank
will continue reducing borrowing costs as inflation slows and nears the 2% target.

Lagarde emphasized that the inflation target is now within reach,
noting that the prolonged period of monetary tightening has improved the accuracy of economic forecasts.
This allows policymakers to focus on managing future risks without being overly concerned about previous inflation shocks.

In a speech delivered on Monday, reported by Bloomberg,
Lagarde highlighted signs of easing service price inflation in the coming months.
She also mentioned that the ECB may continue to lower interest rates if incoming data aligns with policymakers’ forecasts.

Lagarde further added that while domestic inflation in the eurozone remains high,
service price inflation has recently decelerated.

Japanese Stocks Stabilize Amid Anticipation of Monetary Policy Decisions

The main Japanese stock index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed Monday’s session
on a stable note as investors awaited the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) upcoming monetary policy decision later this week.
This decision follows the anticipated monetary policy announcement by the U.S. Federal Reserve, scheduled a day earlier.

Meanwhile, data released earlier today revealed positive performance in Japan’s core machinery orders for October,
which exceeded expectations. This strengthens the outlook for increased capital expenditure in the coming months.
Purchasing Managers’ Indexes (PMIs) also indicated improvements in the manufacturing and services sectors in December.

Regarding trading, the Nikkei 225 index slightly declined by 0.03%, losing 12.95 points
to close at 39,457.27.
The broader Topix index recorded a more significant decline of 0.3%, shedding 8.23 points to end the session at 2,738.33.

UK Manufacturing Sector Contracts While Services Sector Expands in December

Data released by IHS Markit, part of S&P Global,
on Monday morning showed a contraction in the UK manufacturing sector in December.
The preliminary Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector came in at 47.3,
indicating a decline in activity.
This reading was below market expectations of 48.4 and lower than November’s figure of 48.0.

On the other hand, the UK services sector showed positive growth,
with the PMI for the services sector rising to 51.4.
This figure exceeded market expectations of 50.9 and exceeded November’s reading of 50.8.

Japanese Stocks Steady Ahead of Monetary Policy Decisions

Japanese Stocks Steady Ahead of Monetary Policy Decisions

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