Foreign weekly inflows to Japan’s long-term bonds hit 9-1/2-month high

2026-02-05 - 06:56

Japanese stocks saw foreign inflows for a sixth consecutive week, totalling 494.6 billion yen. (EPA Images pic) TOKYO: Foreign investors poured significant funds into Japanese long-term bonds in the week ended Jan 31, ahead of the Feb 8 lower house election, as strong demand at a 40-year government bond auction boosted market sentiment. They acquired a net 2.08 trillion yen (US$13.26 billion), the most since April 12, worth of Japanese long-term bonds, data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance showed on Thursday. The 40-year JGB auction last week held a bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of demand, of 2.76, the highest since a sale in March 2025. Foreigners also purchased a net 1.13 trillion yen worth of Japanese short-term bills, logging the first weekly net purchase in three weeks. Japanese stocks saw foreign inflows for a sixth consecutive week, totalling 494.6 billion yen. The Nikkei hit a record high of 54,782.83 earlier in the week, but traders witnessed some consolidation on Thursday amid a sell-off in technology shares on concerns over hefty valuations. Japanese investors, meanwhile, purchased a net 713.7 billion yen worth of foreign long-term debt securities in the most recent week as they registered their largest weekly net purchase since Sept 20, 2025. They also invested 454.6 billion yen in foreign stocks, booking a fourth weekly net purchase in five.