The Japanese yen rose against the dollar Thursday as global shares fell amid concern about artificial-intelligence spending, with Reuters linking the currency’s advance to demand for safer assets.
The Bank of Japan’s Oct. 22 exchange-rate sheet put the dollar at ¥158.15–¥158.17 at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday (9 a.m. JST Thursday), then ¥157.22–¥157.24 at 4 a.m. ET Thursday (5 p.m. JST).
Reuters reported that a semiconductor index lost 6.7%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6% and MSCI’s All-World index declined 1.3%. The outlet tied the equity losses to concern about the scale of AI capital commitments, including Meta’s. In a separate report on the yen, Reuters cited doubts about the returns those investments may generate, alongside risk aversion, high oil prices and conflict in the Middle East.
Meta Platforms Inc. reported $34.91 billion in third-quarter capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases. Its 2026 forecast was $135 billion to $145 billion, with the low end $5 billion above its previous outlook. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company’s investments were “paying off” and its core business was strong.
The implied 10-year yield gap between the United States and Japan narrowed to 2.09 percentage points on Oct. 22 from 2.25 points on Oct. 21. The U.S. Treasury’s 10-year par yield was 4.96%, down from 5.13%, while Japan Bond Trading Co. listed the Japanese government bond yield at 2.870%, down from 2.880%. The figures come from separate daily series and do not reflect yields at the same moment.
The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to meet Oct. 27-28, followed by the Bank of Japan on Oct. 29-30. In September, the BOJ said it would continue raising its policy rate as it assesses economic activity, prices and financial conditions; it gave no date for another increase.
