Japan stocks pare gains on firmer yen; JGB yields up after cenbank decision
Updates prices as of 0410 GMT
By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO, Sept 20 (Reuters) -Japan's Nikkei share average pared early gains amid a firmer yen on Friday, while bond yields edged higher after the Bank of Japan upgraded its assessment of consumption while leaving interest rates unchanged.
The Nikkei share average .N225 traded 1.9% higher to 37,861.31, after entering the midday recess up 2.1%, led by a Wall Street-inspired rally in chip-sector stocks.
The yen gained against the dollar to be about 0.3% stronger at 142.15, after initially shrugging off the policy decision, which came in when stock and bond markets were in the trading break.
A stronger currency reduces the value of overseas revenues at the country's many heavyweight exporters.
The two-year and 10-year Japanese government bond yields added 0.5 basis point to 0.385% and 0.855%, respectively.
"Overall, they were quite hawkish," said Bart Wakabayashi, Tokyo branch manager at State Street.
"Underlying inflation is expected to increase gradually, which is a very nice thing, and the economy keeps going above potential growth rates."
The BOJ judged that "private consumption has been on a moderate increasing trend," a more optimistic assessment than the previous view that consumption was "resilient."
The decision to hold short-term interest rates steady at 0.25% was widely expected following hikes in March and July.
Animal spirits have been the question mark for policymakers, with inflation tracking above the central bank's target for more than two years - including in the latest data released early on Friday - but much of that due to import prices.
The focus now turns to BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda's news conference, due to start at 0630 GMT, after Japanese markets close.
He is likely to adopt a cautiously hawkish tone, rather than the "extremely hawkish" posture of the previous policy meeting, to avoid roiling markets, said Shoki Omori, chief Japan desk strategist at Mizuho Securities.
"Careful communication will be carried out to incorporate a rate hike in December or January," Omori said.
"If the hawkish stance is clearly conveyed to the market, the USD/JPY exchange rate is expected to trend downward."
The BoJ continues to hold https://reut.rs/4e8zxKl
Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Sherry Jacob-Phillips
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