Japan’s Nikkei Rises as Chip Shares Rebound; BOJ Decision in Focus

TOKYO, April 26 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Friday led by a rebound in chip-related stocks, while investors awaited the central bank’s policy decision.

Chip sector shares recovered from Thursday’s losses, tracking overnight gains in U.S. peers, with the Philadephia SE Semiconductor Index jumping nearly 2% even as Wall Street’s three main indexes declined.

U.S. stock futures were pointing to gains for Friday though, following strong after-the-bell earnings from tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft.

The Bank of Japan is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Friday, after just raising them for the first time since 2007 last month. However, investors are on guard for hawkish signals potentially aimed at propping up the yen, which has this month hit 34-year lows.

The time of the policy announcement is not set,…