Nikkei 225 closes down as Bank of Japan boosts stimulus

The Nikkei 225 has closed lower in trading today after the Japanese central bank boosted stimulus.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo has closed lower this morning (December 20th) after newly re-elected premier Shinzo Abe put pressure on the of Bank of Japan to boost its key stimulus measure in a bid to boost growth.

Now, the central bank's asset purchasing programme – which is aimed at keeping a lid on the cost of borrowing – has been upped by 10 trillion yen (£73 billion).

Furthermore, the Bank of Japan has kept interest rates the same at between zero and 0.1 per cent.

Mr Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party were voted back into power on Sunday after three years in opposition – and they have their work cut out for them, as the world's third-largest economy is facing huge pressure to take steps to help restore growth.

At the end of trading in Tokyo today, the Nikkei 225 retreated by 1.1 per cent to an index value of 10039.3 points.

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