Let's talk about the interest rate hike in Japan.

Apart from the announcement of the interest rate change on December 19, the market is particularly concerned about whether the Bank of Japan will continue to raise interest rates. Currently, the interest rate is 0.5%, and after the hike, it would only reach 0.75%.

However, based on what was mentioned earlier, to bring the interest rate back to a neutral range, the market speculates that this round of rate hikes should eventually reach 1.25%, which means betting on three consecutive rate hikes.

The last time Japan raised interest rates consecutively was from March 2024 until January 2025, a period of about 10 months, which raised Japan from a negative interest rate of -0.1% to a final rate of 0.5%.

Currently, Japan is still facing high prices, with inflation exceeding 2% for three consecutive years, and there are constant criticisms from the public regarding the pace of the Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes, which cannot keep up with the inflation rate, resulting in very low actual borrowing costs.

The market is currently digesting the panic of consecutive rate hikes after the initial increase, while December is also the worst time for liquidity due to North American Christmas and year-end holidays, leading to significant market volatility.

This is just a reference, as many factors affect asset prices.