Reuters
The Japanese yen weakened while stocks swung between small gains and losses after the Bank of Japan on Tuesday announced an end to years of ultra-easy monetary policies, marking an historic shift from a decades-long fight against deflation. In a widely expected decision, the central bank ended its negative interest rates policy and yield curve control (YCC), as well as dropping purchases of risky assets, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Local and international media, including Reuters, had been reporting over the past week of a likely end to most or all of the BOJ's stimulus programmes at this policy meeting.