Mumbai, Sept. 18 -- The Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% to above 64,600 on Friday, extending its gains for a third straight session. The index was supported after the Bank of Japan raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%.

Investors are now watching for signals on whether the BOJ could raise rates further as inflation and wage growth remain elevated. Attention is also on comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Japan's annual inflation rate was steady at 1.9% in August, while core inflation remained below the BOJ's 2% target for a seventh consecutive month at 1.7%.

Technology and AI-related stocks led the market higher, following gains in US technology stocks overnight. Kioxia rose 3.2%, SoftBank Group gained 4.1%, Advantest a...