Japan’s Nikkei index rose above 69,500 for the first time on record, gaining 5.4% in two hours and adding more than ¥77.22 trillion ($465 billion) in stock market value. The rally came even as markets expect the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates to 1% tomorrow, suggesting investors remain confident about Japanese equities. Markets will next focus on the Bank of Japan’s policy decision and any signals about future rate increases.







