There were no surprises at the end of the Bank of Japan's December monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, which handed down the widely expected decision to leave ultra-easy policy settings and dovish forward guidance unchanged. There's still a crackle of anticipation left this Tuesday, however, over the BOJ governor's press conference at 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT). The markets will be listening closely for any hints that Governor Kazuo Ueda may drop about when the central bank plans to make its much-awaited exit from negative short-term rates.
The Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the early Asian session on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan retained its massive monetary policy stimulus, as widely expected.