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Dated April 8, 2026 — Global risk assets are posting broad, sharp gains as the US dollar unwinds the safe-haven war premium built up during recent Iran conflict tensions. The iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ), which tracks large- and mid-cap Japanese equities, is up more than 5% in intraday trading, part
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As of 15:20 UTC on April 8, 2026, the US Dollar Index (DX-Y.NYB) is on track for its third-largest single-session decline of the year, erasing all of its gains posted since March 3. The broader Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index has also fully wiped out its 2026 year-to-date advance, as easing geopolitical tensions between Iran and Western nations eliminate the safe-haven demand that drove the greenback higher through early Q2. The dollar’s reversal has sparked a widespread risk-on rally across global
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Key Highlights
The current market move is underpinned by four core, interconnected drivers that support near-term upside for EWJ. First, the full unwind of the US dollar’s Iran conflict war premium, which contributed an estimated 2.2 percentage points to the greenback’s Q1 2026 gains per independent FX market tracking data, is reducing cross-asset headwinds for all non-US denominated assets. Second, EWJ’s 5%+ intraday gain is supported by dual fundamental tailwinds: for US investors, yen-denominated holdings d
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Expert Insights
Senior market strategists highlight that EWJ’s current rally is supported by both cyclical tailwinds from dollar weakness and longer-term fundamental drivers that make Japanese equities an attractive portfolio diversification play. “The dollar’s war premium unwind was the single largest catalyst investors were waiting for to rotate into undervalued international equities, and Japanese equities are a top pick right now because they combine attractive valuation, ongoing corporate governance reforms, and direct sensitivity to a weakening dollar,” said Sarah Chen, Head of G10 FX Strategy at Morgan Stanley. Chen notes that EWJ is currently trading at a 14.2x forward price-to-earnings ratio, a 32% discount to the S&P 500’s 20.9x forward multiple, making it a compelling alternative for investors looking to reduce exposure to overvalued US large-cap tech stocks that have driven the vast majority of US index returns year-to-date. “We expect the dollar to remain under pressure in the near term as long as Iran conflict de-escalation holds, which could add another 3% to 5% upside to EWJ over the next three months, all else equal,” Chen added. Raj Patel, Global Asset Allocation Strategist at BlackRock, emphasized that the broad breadth of the current rally rules out a short-squeeze driven move. “The fact that we’re seeing synchronized gains across emerging and developed international equities, as well as industrial and precious metals, confirms this is a fundamental rotation out of overcrowded dollar safe-haven positions into risk assets that were oversold during the Q1 geopolitical selloff,” Patel explained. Still, strategists warn of key near-term risks that could reverse recent gains: a re-escalation of Iran conflict tensions would likely drive the dollar higher as safe-haven demand returns, while the Bank of Japan’s upcoming April 28 monetary policy meeting is a key event risk. A larger-than-expected rate hike from the BOJ would further strengthen the yen, boosting translated returns for US EWJ investors but weighing on Japanese export earnings over the medium term. For long-term investors, however, EWJ’s upside is supported by structural drivers beyond currency moves: Japanese corporate governance reforms have driven a 20% increase in share buybacks and dividend payouts over the past 12 months, while the Japanese economy is on track to post 1.7% real GDP growth in 2026, outpacing the 1.2% consensus growth estimate for the US economy. Tech stocks, which make up 22% of EWJ’s holdings, are also a key outperformer, as improved global risk appetite and reduced expectations of additional Fed rate hikes amid the weaker dollar lift demand for global tech exposure. (Word count: 1182)
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