Central bank tweaks exchange-traded fund buying pattern

Reassuring investors: Pedestrians cross the street in front of the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The central bank has made its buying pattern more flexible of late. — AFP

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) surprise stock market purchases last week raised some eyebrows, but the move has reassured investors that the central bank has no immediate plans to taper asset support amid deepening worries about a second coronavirus wave.

The exchange traded fund (ETF) purchases on Friday, part of the BoJ’s massive asset-buying programme, marked an apparent break in its unwritten but widely-known pattern of support.