for more let's go to ramin mellegard, who is standing by at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, how are tokyo stocks starting the day off, given the concerns over in the u.s.? >> a little bit on a cautious side, ai, investors remain a little bit concerned about the events in the u.s. that you were just mentioning. let's have a look at the opening levels for september 26th, and as you can see there both indexes slightly in the negative, we'll see how that continues into the morning session but just to remind you the nikkei did end wednesday in the negative and besides its u.s. debt ceiling problems the weaker dollar trend against the yen was also a factor. we'll see if that continues today as well and that's despite data which showed in the u.s. yesterday on wednesday a bounce in durable goods orders as well as a rise in new home sales, so data is really being pushed to the side there, and we might see a little bit more hesitation here as well. we have seen some profit-taking in some of the key sectors which had gained earlier in the month specifically olympic related shar

ramin, how are stocks looking following a long weekend in japan? >> thank you very much. yes, monday was a public holiday in japan. this is the first trading day of the week, this tuesday. let's look at the opening levels, for the nikkei and topix. mainly in the positive. slight gains there. we'll see if that continues. the nikkei is may actually meet a little bit of hesitation as markets are really looking forward to the u.s. policy reserve board meeting. we're also seeing the dollar fall a touch, which may weigh on exporters. last week the nikkei ended in the positive, largely on the back of the gains following tokyo winning its bid for the 2020 olympics. which boosted infrastructure shares here. however, we did come for a little bit of profit-taking in those shares, and the strong yen weighed a little bit on blue chip exporters toward the end of the week. regarding summers, observers said he was expected to face stiff resistance from the senate committee. and even some democrats voiced some strong opposition to summers, for fear of some disruption to the current quanti

>> ramin, as you say, seems like they're focusing on the fed decision. how is the dollar-yen faring right now? >> we saw fluctuations up to today and of course, up to and including next week's policy board meeting. right now 99.64-65. if to the u.s. central bank announces plans, the yen may face more selling pressure but until the meeting, the dollar will likely remain in a bit of a range. traders seem to be cautiously waiting for further direction next week. that's a big focus, of course, and we'll see how it trade pans out today but really for now, just marginal gains for both the nikkei and the topix and seeing how some of the key electronics and exporters trade, as well, given the dollar-yen levels. back to you. >> thank you, ramin, for that update. >>> indonesian central bankers moved to stave off a currency crisis. they have raised the key interest rate for the fourth month running and they've downgraded their growth outlook. policymakers decided on thursday to hike up the benchmark rate a quarter of a percentage point to 7.25%. u.s. central banker

. >> let's go to ramin. >> let's go straight to the opening levels, and have a look at where we stand today, september 18th, and both indexes well into the positive. 14,426 for the nikkei. and the topix over 14%. given the gains we've seen in the dow, the nasdaq investors are largely accepting that the federal reserve will begin to cut back on its $85 billion a month bond buy back program. given the overall tone of u.s. data, how will stocks react if the fed meets expectations, exceeds them or falls short? analysts i've spoken to say that markets seemed poised for further gains in the long term. here in japan, they're positives as well, the strong policies put forward by the prime minister. and also an overall weaker yen has helped exporters, and business sentiment and encouraging words for the bank of japan have also given positives and boosted sentiments overall. we'll see how the markets react following the fomc meeting. for now, pretty positive. >> people in the markets are also keeping a close eye on the dollar, aren't they? how is it trading this wednesday morning? >> yes, the d

to see how stocks are reacting here, let's go to ramin at the tokyo stock exchange. give us the details. >> little bit of a mixed picture here. straight to the opening levels and you can see why. the nikkei is marginally in the negative. so, however, in the u.s. of course, fundamental factors really did play into the positive close for the dow. on thursday in the u.s. could be a little bit more upbeat than a lot of analysts were expecting with the americans number of americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly falling. some see possible resolutions to the u.s. government debt ceiling issue as well as political issues over syria, so we'll keep track of those as well. abe is seeking an additional stimulus package in order also to support the sales tax hike that is also being planned and another focus is going to be the auto sector there. analysts expecting u.s. auto sales to decline. we'll keep track of auto sector shares and related shares as well. of course, chip related shares have been in focus this week with tokyo electron and add van test hitting the

but ramin, the dollar weakened a touch, hasn't it, as data on friday showed u.s. employers added fewer jobs than expected. tell us more. >> exactly. it was a bit of a mixed picture and reflected in the dollar. currently, 99.71-76. don't forget it broke above 100 yen at one point on monday and backtracked a little bit. expectations of tapering of the federal reserve's bond buying program has come in to question a little bit following the lackluster jobs numbers on friday, ai. there's a big focus on what the fed will do in the policy meeting next week in that regard. let's have a look at the euro/yen, as well. 132.17-27. investors seem more content that policies bare fruit as the central bank made assurances of more accommodative monetary policy and keeping track of currencies, as well. but pretty positive start so far for the nikkei and the topix and keeping track of, of course, how the data out of china will also play in to stocks later today. that's all for me. back to you. >> all right. thanks for that update. >>> well, officials at japan's transport ministry wa

now, to see how stocks here are going to be affected, we go to ramine at the tokyo stock exchange. so, before we get to the stock opening levels, we've also just had some key data here. >> yes, indeed. and we had machinery orders for july and i can safely use the word, almost unchanged. now, that data is actually a very strong indicator for capital investment by japanese companies. we'll see how that filters through, but let's have a look at the opening levels and it's almost the same as how the u.s. markets closed. we're getting a mixeded open here with the nikkei higher. now, in the previous session on wednesday, the nikkei maintained the trend and as we've seen the dollar fall from yesterday's levels, we may see further selling in some exporters today as well. exporters had been driven higher when the dollar was around the mid hundred yen levels on wednesday, so some fluctuations there. now, apple as you mentioned, is a big focus. its shares slumped in the u.s. session. analysts say there weren't too many positive surprises in the latest lineup of smart phones. there's also goin

ramine, what's the reaction on tokyo markets? >> thank you very much. pretty positive reaction. let's have a look at the opening levels. in fact, for the nikkei and the topix, on the screens, up by more than 1% for both indexes. following the dow's record closing high, we're seeing stocks trading higher here. investors really stepping into buy. however, i have to thad the yen strength continues right now against the dollar. that may weigh on exporters. i'm going to keep track of all of those sectors. in fact, let's have a look at currency levels. of course, a crucial factor in how stocks trade. dollar-yen right now 98.25-27. we're going have to monitor how the dollar-yen trades. the dollar did fall against major currencies and touches the lowest level this month in new york trading, but now with the rally in stoko stocks, the yen may face downward pressure as well. investors are shifting their funds into riskier he assets and lowering the appeal of the safe haven yen. euro dollar -- the euro actually rose against a dollar following the fed's announcement in new york. the euro re