LONDON/TOKYO—The Japanese yen fell as much as 1.9 percent on Friday after the Bank of Japan bucked a wave of tightening and stuck with its ultra-low interest rate stance, as currency markets looked set for another volatile session after a spate of rate hikes this week.
The Swiss National Bank’s surprise decision to raise rates by 0.5 percent continued to reverberate through markets, with the euro losing half a percent and the franc heading back towards two-month highs hit immediately after Thursday’s announcement.
Currency markets, facing the biggest run of monetary policy tightening for decades, are also having to contend with a massive drop in risk sentiment that has sent equity markets tumbling….