Bank of Japan brings era of negative rates to a close

First hike since 2007

The Bank of Japan has ended its era of negative interest rates with its first hike since 2007, the last central bank to end the use of negative rates.

The move brings the nation's interest rate to a range of 0-0.1%, as BoJ governor Kazuo Ueda also ended a swathe of accommodative monetary policies. Interest rates shifted into negative territory in 2016 in an attempt to encourage banks to lend more, continuing a near decade-long trend of cutting rates, with the previous hike occurring in 2007. Aviva Investors' Wakefield: Is Japan's stock-market sugar rush sustainable? Chris Scicluna, head of research at Daiwa Capital Markets Europe, noted along with the rates shift, the bank ended the policy of yield control and ETF purchase, which...