Wall Street stocks retreated Friday as the market's latest rally lost steam, while the yen pushed higher after the Bank of Japan lifted interest rates. In Japan, Tokyo's stock market dropped and the yen rallied after the Bank of Japan lifted borrowing costs to their highest level since 2008 and flagged further increases in the pipeline.

The yen strengthened and Japanese government bond yields rose to fresh multi-year highs on Friday after the Bank of Japan hiked interest rates as expected and raised its inflation forecasts, reinforcing views it will push rates up again.

Japan’s central bank has hiked interest rates as expected to a 17-year high as it continues on a path to normalise its monetary policy. On Friday (Jan 24), the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised short-term rates by 25 basis points to 0.5 per cent, its highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis.