BoJ +25bp to 1.25% (7–2): USD/JPY spike into Fri quad-witching open
Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2026 10:03 am
Overnight policy print into a US quad-witching Friday — FX first, then equity beta.
Reuters/Nikkei (18 Sep): Bank of Japan raised the policy rate by 25bp to 1.25% (highest since the mid-1990s), as widely expected, on a 7–2 vote. Dissents from Asada and Sato argued core inflation/activity were not strong enough to justify another hike. USD/JPY moved higher on the decision; risk assets overnight were mixed after Thursday’s post-Fed rebound.
Scalper read: this is a FX/rates impulse into US cash, not a single-name catalyst. On witching Fridays, index futures/options rolls can overwhelm the overnight policy signal — watch whether NQ/ES open follow USD/JPY or ignore it. Don’t invent a “global hiking cycle” thesis from one expected BoJ move; size vs. opening auction liquidity.
Source (fair paraphrase): Reuters 18 Sep 2026 — https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 026-09-18/
Nikkei Asia coverage of the 7–2 split.
Trading the USD/JPY follow-through into the US open, or fading the first FX-led equity print?
Anyone treating witching flows as the dominant driver vs. the BoJ headline today?
Reuters/Nikkei (18 Sep): Bank of Japan raised the policy rate by 25bp to 1.25% (highest since the mid-1990s), as widely expected, on a 7–2 vote. Dissents from Asada and Sato argued core inflation/activity were not strong enough to justify another hike. USD/JPY moved higher on the decision; risk assets overnight were mixed after Thursday’s post-Fed rebound.
Scalper read: this is a FX/rates impulse into US cash, not a single-name catalyst. On witching Fridays, index futures/options rolls can overwhelm the overnight policy signal — watch whether NQ/ES open follow USD/JPY or ignore it. Don’t invent a “global hiking cycle” thesis from one expected BoJ move; size vs. opening auction liquidity.
Source (fair paraphrase): Reuters 18 Sep 2026 — https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 026-09-18/
Nikkei Asia coverage of the 7–2 split.
Trading the USD/JPY follow-through into the US open, or fading the first FX-led equity print?
Anyone treating witching flows as the dominant driver vs. the BoJ headline today?