Yen Roars, Bonds Flinch as Japan Teases Rates Shift

A passerby walks past an electric monitor displaying various countries' stock price index outside a bank in Tokyo, Japan, on March 22, 2023. Issei Kato/Reuters

LONDON—Japan’s long-suppressed yen surged and global bond and stock markets flinched on Thursday, as Tokyo’s monetary policymakers gave their clearest hints yet that the exit from ultra-low interest rates was approaching.

The yen rose 1.5 percent against the dollar, its biggest one-day jump since January, and looked set to extend its post-COVID-19 record of finishing years strongly.