TOKYO -- The Bank of Japan is growing into its role as a key source of support for the country's stock market, as it has stepped up purchases of exchange-traded funds to bring its equities portfolio to an estimated 7 trillion yen ($63.6 billion) or so.
The central bank bought 123.6 billion yen worth of ETFs in August, the largest monthly tally so far this year. At one point, it snapped up ETFs in six straight sessions amid weak stock prices.
