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Bank stocks firm including Mitsubishi UFJ as GDP beats forecasts, stoking BOJ rate hike expectations

Tue May 19, 2026 9:23 am JST Catalyst

Bank stocks are trading firmly, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. <8306> and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. <8316> attracting buying interest, while Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. <8411>, which fell sharply the previous day, rebounded. The Cabinet Office announced on the 19th that Japan's real gross domestic product (GDP) for the January-March 2026 quarter, adjusted for price changes and seasonally adjusted, grew 2.1% on an annualized basis and 0.5% from the previous quarter. Market consensus had expected annualized growth of 1.6% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 0.4%. The results marked two consecutive quarters of positive growth and exceeded market expectations. Against this backdrop, the market is focusing on the resilience of the domestic economy and the possibility that the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates at its June monetary policy meeting, which appears to be providing support for bank stocks. Regional bank stocks are also generally higher, including Tokyo Kiraboshi Financial Group,Inc. <7173>, Chugin Financial Group,Inc. <5832>, and The Yamanashi Chuo Bank,Ltd. <8360>.

Source: MINKABU PRESS

*Translated by generative AI. Click here for the original article.

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