日本央行宣布下周起出售ETF持仓 以“百年节奏”护航市场平稳过渡

Core Viewpoint - The Bank of Japan will begin gradually selling its holdings of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and real estate investment trusts (J-REITs) starting next week, aiming to do so in a manner that avoids market disruption [1] Group 1: Bank of Japan's Actions - As of the end of September, the Bank of Japan held ETFs valued at 83 trillion yen (approximately 525 billion USD), with potential for further valuation increases due to recent stock market highs [1] - The central bank plans to reduce its holdings at a pace of 3.3 trillion yen annually (275 billion yen monthly), which would take approximately 112 years to complete if maintained [1] - The Bank of Japan aims for this reduction to be "almost unnoticed" by the market, similar to the gradual divestment of bank shares that took about ten years to complete [1] Group 2: Market Context and Implications - The Nikkei 225 index reached a historical high earlier this week amid expectations of increased fiscal spending by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government [1] - Over the past three years, the Japanese stock market has more than doubled, contributing to the rapid increase in the value of the Bank of Japan's assets [1] - The current government is striving to maintain an expansionary fiscal policy despite Japan's public debt burden being the highest among developed countries [2] Group 3: Historical Context - The Bank of Japan initiated its ETF and J-REITs purchasing program in December 2010 as part of its monetary easing policy, significantly expanding the purchase scale after implementing ultra-loose monetary policy in 2013 [2] - The asset purchase program is set to officially terminate in March 2024 [2]