Japan Stock Indexes and Bond Yields Held Steady Amid Stalled Trade Talks With U.S.

Akira Ito
03 Jul, 2025
Tokyo

Japan's stock market indexes wavered around the flatline as investors looked forward to a possible trade agreement with the U.S. 

Investors have been cautiously optimistic about a possible trade deal with the U.S., but both sides struggle to find common ground. 

Japan has been resisting additional duties of 25% on vehicle and parts exports, and negotiators have been reluctant to relax barriers to rice imports. 

The Vietnam-U.S. agreement raised hopes that a deal could be struck as early as next week before the July 9 deadline imposed by the U.S. negotiators. 

Vietnam agreed to a 20% import duty on manufactured goods and a 40% rate on transshipped goods to the U.S. and to drop all import duties on U.S. exports. 

After the agreement, import duty on Vietnamese goods rises to 20% from the current 10%, but less than the threatened 46%. 

However, trade experts cautioned that the deal lacks clarity about the implementation plan on transshipped goods and non-tariff barriers on U.S. imports. 

On the economic front, the au Jibun Bank Japan Services PMI was revised higher to 51.7 from the preliminary estimate of 51.5 in June. 

The services sector expanded for the third consecutive month, driven by an increase in new orders and a modest rebound in exports. 

 

Japan Indexes and Stocks 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average edged down 0.03% to 39,756.31, and the broader Topix fell 0.1% to 2,824.84. 

The yen held near 145.83 against the dollar and the yield on 10-year Japanese government bond traded above 1.45% amid growing optimism over trade negotiations with the U.S. 

Technology and electronics companies dominated in Tokyo trading. 

Socionext Inc. jumped 3.2% to ¥2,756.50, Fujikura Ltd. gained 1.7% to ¥2,756.50, and Tokyo Electron advanced 1.5% to ¥26,995.0. 

Nintendo Co. Ltd. increased 1.1% to ¥26,995.0, Sony Group Corp. decreased 0.7% to ¥3,649.0, and Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. declined 2.3% to ¥3,304.0. 

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. rose 2.2% to ¥1,452.0, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. gained 5.9% to ¥362.90, and Toyota Motor Corp. increased 2.1% to ¥2,518.50.