Four drivers for Nikkei after record high, Brent under $80

The Nikkei 225 reached a record 72,639 on June 22, up about 45% year to date. The index rose as U.S. and Iranian teams agreed a roadmap for renewed talks and Brent crude dropped below $80. Stocks linked to artificial intelligence posted gains during the session.

Delegations from Washington and Tehran met in Switzerland after their leaders signed a memorandum of understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. participants included JD Vance, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Iran’s team was led by Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. The sides set a timeline aiming for a final accord in roughly 60 days and discussed ways to halt military operations in Lebanon.

Brent crude trading under $80 lowers import costs for Japan, one of the world’s largest oil importers. Changes in crude prices affect input costs for companies and are monitored for their impact on consumer price trends and corporate margins.

The dollar-yen rate reached about 161.56 on Monday, near this year’s high of 161.81 and the highest level in more than 40 years. The yen has weakened roughly 15% from its low last year. The Bank of Japan has carried out support operations exceeding $70 billion and raised its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1%.

Scheduled economic releases and central bank commentary this week include S&P Global’s flash manufacturing and services purchasing managers’ indices on Tuesday, the BOJ’s minutes from its most recent policy meeting on Wednesday, remarks by Governor Kazuo Ueda later in the week and Tokyo consumer inflation figures on Friday.

U.S. corporate news may influence Tokyo trading. Micron Technology reports quarterly results on Wednesday. Micron supplies memory chips used in artificial intelligence hardware. Japanese companies with exposure to memory markets and AI-related investments include SoftBank Group and Kioxia.

Key dates this week are the flash PMIs on Tuesday, BOJ minutes and Micron results on Wednesday, and Tokyo consumer inflation on Friday.