ramin mellegard, tokyo stock exchange. >>> moving on to other markets in asia. upper momentum from japan's spilled over into the region. kospi rose for a fourth day up by .5%. sidney added .7%. hong kong responded 23,669. highest finish in two weeks. gains in japan's financial firms encouraged investors to pick up banking shares. the boj's decision had limited impact on mainland china. the shanghai composited edged up by.10%. chinese premier said the country's economy is showing a steady upward trend. >>> executives at china's major steel makers say they are thinking about absorbing a smaller domestic competitor. it would create the world's second largest producer of steel. executives say they might take over wood iron and steel group both state-owned. chinese steel makers account for hahalf of global output. a pillar of the chinese economic reform is to encourage consolidation in the steel industry and lower production capacity. here's a look at some of the other businesess stories we're following. >>> japan's trade balance fell into the red for the first time

we're going to go to ramin mellegard for that at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning, ramin. tell us what you're seeing over there. >> good morning to you, ai. markets playing catch-up after the public holiday on monday. as you mentioned it's all about the central bank meetings this week. the federal reserve, and of course the bank of japan. and maybe more focus on the bank of japan as very few are actually expecting any move by the federal reserve, so that really puts a focus mostly on the boj. let's take a look at how the nikkei and the topix are kicking off this tuesday, september 20th. both indexes in the negative in the first few minutes of trading. just a reminder, the nikkei fell 2.6% last week. and it was its biggest weekly loss since early july. with the dollar having retreated from a two-week high. we may also see further hesitancy among exporter shares this morning. after recent mixed economic data on japan, some market players are speculating further policy moves by the boj to boost inflation. that's really one of the main focuses the market players are looking at

we're going to go to ramin mellegard for that at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning, ramin, what are you seeing over there? >> you touched on the main subject, really focused on oil. of course after opec members' preliminary agreement to curb oil production, and, of course, we have to follow the banking sector as well as some concerns ease somewhat over deutsche bank after it unloaded. look at the opening levels up 0.9%. 16,613 for the nikkei. topix .6%. nikkei fell 1.3% on wednesday largely on the back of selling stocks which had gone -- and also the yen remaining close to one-month highs against the dollar. we'll come to that in a second. but still, we need to keep track of energy stocks after crude oil benchmarks surged following the opec meeting in algeria. brent crude, beg your pardon, rose about 6% hitting a high not seen in more than two weeks. now, worries about the banking sector receded somewhat. that's after the share prices deutsche bank bounced back on news that it's going to sell its british insurance unit. i know you're going to have more d

we're going to go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. tell us what you're seeing over there. >> very good morning to you. markets had really been poised for comments from leo brainard, federal reserve governor, as he cautioned against a rate hike any time soon, which sent investors back into stocks as you showed there. however, there's still caution against the yen. which still remains stubbornly strong against the dollar, so that may hold off any major buying and exporters. nevertheless, look at the opening there. the nikkei 225 is up 0.6%. the broader topix up 0.46%. we're still seeing a continuation of the gains from wall street. now that may bode well for asia-pacific stocks as well. we'll monitor that. however, choppy commodity prices and concerns that lower demand-led growth from china and some other emerging economies may also dampen -- have a dampening effect, if you will. we'll monitor that sector as well. we did see china steel futures, for instance, falling to a seven-week low on monday. and also iron ore prices were also at t

holidays, but to see how markets here in tokyo are kicking off this tuesday, we're going to go to ramin mellegard who is standing by at the tokyo stock exchange. what are you seeing this morning? >> a very good morning to you, ai. really in the absence of any guidance from wall street, as you mentioned there, hitting record highs, but for japan as well. but a lot of investors may take their cues from the energy markets. let's have a look at how the nikkei and the topix are opening, 17052 marginally in the positive there and the broader topix up 0.21%. as i said, in the absence of any direction from wall street, investors across asia pacific will likely get a check on how markets trade here at the tokyo stock exchange as the dollar has also fallen just a touch. so exporters may come in for a bit of selling. i'll track that sector especially after solid gains so far in early september. now, i mentioned energy markets. so let's get a quick look at crude oil prices as well. brent and wti benchmarks have gone up so far this week giving energy sector stocks a boost after losses that we saw last week, i

ramin mellegard join us from the tokyo stock exchange. >> very good morning to you. you touched on the markets in the positive. however, the slightly lower dollar and energy prices and anticipation for the nonfarm payrolls and unemployment data out of the u.s. may just put the brakes on any major moves here in tokyo this morning. in fact, let's have a look at the opening levels. slightly into the negatives, down 0.2 and 0.1% for the broader topix. now, yesterday just a quick reminder the nikkei rose 2% kicking off september on a bit of a positive note. a weaker yen helping major ek porters. the dollar was higher before as many were speculating about an early rate hike in the u.s. of course, the jobs data later will paint a fuller picture regarding that. >>> the banking sector also has seen some gains on the back of the same sentiment of possibly higher rates in the u.s. some are also speculating the bank of japan may take extra measures when it meets on september 21st, the federal reserve also meets later this month, too. >> absolutely. and you notice a slight fall i

to see how this is affecting trading here, this friday morning, we're going to go to ramin mellegard. he's at the tokyo stock exchange keeping tabs on how markets are opening. tell us what you see. >> very good morning to you, ai. all eyes were really on the ecb meeting in the absence of any other news and many investors were left a little bit disappointed as many of them had been looking for the ecb to increase its bond buying. but we're seeing a pretty positive start here so far for this friday, september 9th, for the nikkei and the broader topix up 0.34% for the nikkei, 17020. just a reminder the nikkei has been subject to moves in currency marketsp we saw the dollar tumble earlier this week and that stopped the nikkei in its tracks, but we're seeing an upward trend now. and september kicking off relatively on a positive trend. now, here, of course, the big story was nintendo. after it announced its highly popular super mario mobile app phone game is going to be available on iphones in time for christmas, and its share price was up 13% yesterday. i'll keep track of that share and i

for that, we're going to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning.ell us what you're seeing at the open. >> very good morning, ai. the central bank and central bank action or inaction, if you will, will be a focus for investors, but today, of course, a lot of focus on the unveiling of apple's iphone 7 and its launch next week. so, of course, we're going to be tracking all the componentmakers in japan which go into a lot of the apple products. let's have a look at the opening levels. the nikkei and topix lower in the first few minutes of trading here for september 8th, down 0.2%. the topix down 0.32%. just a reminder, the nikkei underperfomed the region yesterday on the news of the back of the news of the drop of the dollar. strong gains for the nikkei we've seen so far in september. >> ramin, it looks like market sentiment has been swayed by talks of further stimulus by the bank of japan. that looks like it's affecting currencies. >> exactly. again, central bank talk or comments really the focus for a lot of investors. dollar/yen 101.82-86. compared

in tokyo, we go to ramin mellegard at the stock exchange. high expectations, tell us what you're seeing over there. >> the central bank meetings always get a lot of attention, but especially so for the speculation for the boj that maybe it could make a move. compared to the more muted effect really for the federal reserve. but let's have a look at how the markets are opening here for wednesday, september 21st. bit of a mixed open there. we can see the topix going in and out of positive territory. the nikkei right now, down 0.18%. now many analysts will be grappling with the question, how can more monetary easing help? and if it can't, then what can be the boj do? of course supporting asset prices is a key factor in central bank policy, and battling deflation here has been a monstrous task for the boj according to many analysts. regarding individual stocks, shares of fast retailing, operator of uniqlo fell more than 5% on saturday. speculation that the boj might review its stock related funds purchase led to a bit of a sell-off of the market

for, ramin mellegard is at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. how are markets opening here? >> very good morning to you. you mentioned concerns for deutsche bank. of course shares falling over 8 pr8% after reports it may not receive state funding to help settle some legal claims against the u.s. justice department. so we'll be keeping track of that. also the energy sector and a lot of focus on opec and whether the members there meeting can decide on any cap on production. we'll check the energy sector. let's have a look at the opening levels for the nikkei and the topix for tuesday, september 27th. both indexes trading lower, down over 1% for each. the nikkei has been held back so far this week by that stronger yen. it's hampered exporters, of course. but also added further frustration for the bank of japan policymakers as they try to battle deflation and boost growth. ai? >> ramin, another factor that could affect the dollar, of course, is the course of the u.s. elections, as well as the much-awaited debates. get us an update on currency pairs. >> highly anticipate dad bate

in tokyo this wednesday morning, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. >> good morning to you. the drama surrounding the oil output caps comes before the opec meeting later today in algeria, with iran saying it's not willing to limit output production for the time being. there's also the continued concerns over deutsche bank and the plight of its trying to grapple with a gigantic fine from the u.s. government. so a lot of focus on the banking sector as well. but let's have a look at how the nikkei and the topix are kicking off this wednesday, september 28th. the nikkei down 1.23% and the broader topix down 1.19% as well. the nikkei was the benefit of the presidential debate as they sold yen and bought the dollar on the perceived victory of hillary clinton in round one of three debates. that should help beaten down exporters which have been held back by a stubbornly strong yen. also, the energy sector shares were among some of the worst performers overnight on wall street. we'll keep track of those shares here, which have seen a pretty volat

we are going to go to ramin mellegard for that. he's at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning, what are you seeing at the opening there? >> reporter: a mixed picture in new york but tech shares were definitely boosted by shares of apple and it rose around 3.5% and that's after a brokerage upgraded its outlook, so we'll watch out for component makers here in japan. but oil prices or oil price volatility really still keeping a lot of investors on their toes. let's have a look at the nikkei and broader topix kicking off thursday september 15th. both indexes in the negative down 0.58% for the nikkei. nikkei ended wednesday at its lowest close since late august and bank stocks have really taken the brunt of the selling. that's on growing speculation that the bank of japan would cut interest rates further into negative territory. the boj will have its policy meeting next week. a lot of focus on that. federal reserve having its meeting as well. but many are concerned about negative interest rates cutting into profit margins of the major banks here. so we'll watch out for

we'll go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. >> good evening to you, ai. it seems that market players are concerned about worries of over-supply of oil, and also question marks over what the next central bank meeting, the federal reserve, and the bank of japan next week will bring, and some confused signals really not helping market players in the global financial markets. but let's have a look at the nick kay and the top ix. the broader topics down 0.73%. energy related stocks are the worst performers in the u.s. as well as european markets. crude oil prices falling further, and further warnings really, coming this time from the international energy agency, saying that the global oil glut would carry over into 2017, as opec had already touched on, in its own report earlier this week. the benchmark wti crude features fell over 3% overnight. now, with regards to central bank policy, especially the federal reserve, reports that traders are now seeing a 15% chance of a rate hike next week, down from 30% towards the end of last week. markets however, seem a li