SYDNEY/LONDON—Shares firmed on Monday as optimism over corporate earnings and China’s reopening offset concerns the Bank of Japan (BOJ) might temper its super-sized stimulus policy at a pivotal meeting this week, while a holiday in U.S. markets made for thin trading.
The yen climbed to its highest since May after rumours swirled the BOJ might hold an emergency meeting on Monday as it struggles to defend its new yield ceiling in the face of massive selling.
That had local markets in an anxious mood, and Japan’s Nikkei slipped 1.3 percent to a two-week low.
Yet MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.27 percent, with hopes for a speedy Chinese reopening giving it a gain of 4.2 percent last week….