TOKYO, March 11 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan (BOJ) made no purchases of Japan stock exchange-traded funds (ETF) on Monday, data from the central bank showed, despite Japanese stocks dropping below the central bank's usual threshold for stepping in to buy stocks.
The Topix index closed down 2.2% at 2,666.83 on Monday, exceeding the 2% mark that generally propels the central bank to intervene in the market.
It was not clear why the BOJ did not buy ETFs.
The central bank has yet to buy ETFs this year to support the market. The previous time was on Oct. 4, when it bought 70.1 billion yen ($477.55 million) of ETFs. It also made consecutive purchases on March 13-14 last year of the same amount each day.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said last month the central bank would examine whether to continue its purchases of risky assets such as ETFs when sustained achievement of its 2% inflation target comes into sight.
The BOJ's next monetary policy meeting will be held on March 18-19. ($1 = 146.7900 yen) (Reporting by Brigid Riley Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
