Asian Stock Markets
The dollar lost half a percent against the yen on Wednesday, handing
back earlier gains, as investors remained cautious after a heavy selloff
in stock markets, and with many viewing the Japanese currency as
undervalued.
A sharp decline in global share markets in recent days has had only a muted effect on the currency market, with traditional safe havens such as the yen and Swiss franc seeing only modest gains this week.
While most analysts believe this week’s heavy selloff across stock markets has run its course for the moment, allowing volatility to abate a little, the prospect of monetary tightening across the globe remains a challenge for the long term, and pushed up the yen against the U.S. currency.
The dollar traded as low as 108.92 yen, erasing all of the previous day’s gains.
The greenback had reached a high of 109.720 yen earlier in the day as regional equities such as Japan’s Nikkei soared, taking their cue from a late rebound on Wall Street.
But it drifted lower as the Nikkei, which rose as much as 3.4 percent, gave back most of its gains on anxiety over more weakness in U.S. share markets. U.S. stock futures fell during Asian trade, stoking such fears. [.T]
The focus remains on U.S. stocks, which looked set to open a little lower again, and which have been the source of the latest turbulence in global markets and currencies.
The surge in long-term U.S. bond yields to four-year highs helped trigger the slide in the equity market, and while yields have pulled back from those peaks, they still remain elevated.
The Australian dollar, which tends to suffer during risk aversion, was 0.3 percent lower at $0.7879.
The Swiss franc, a perceived safe haven along with the yen, was flat at 0.9357 francs per dollar, and up only a third of a percent for the week.
A sharp decline in global share markets in recent days has had only a muted effect on the currency market, with traditional safe havens such as the yen and Swiss franc seeing only modest gains this week.
While most analysts believe this week’s heavy selloff across stock markets has run its course for the moment, allowing volatility to abate a little, the prospect of monetary tightening across the globe remains a challenge for the long term, and pushed up the yen against the U.S. currency.
The dollar traded as low as 108.92 yen, erasing all of the previous day’s gains.
The greenback had reached a high of 109.720 yen earlier in the day as regional equities such as Japan’s Nikkei soared, taking their cue from a late rebound on Wall Street.
But it drifted lower as the Nikkei, which rose as much as 3.4 percent, gave back most of its gains on anxiety over more weakness in U.S. share markets. U.S. stock futures fell during Asian trade, stoking such fears. [.T]
The focus remains on U.S. stocks, which looked set to open a little lower again, and which have been the source of the latest turbulence in global markets and currencies.
The surge in long-term U.S. bond yields to four-year highs helped trigger the slide in the equity market, and while yields have pulled back from those peaks, they still remain elevated.
The Australian dollar, which tends to suffer during risk aversion, was 0.3 percent lower at $0.7879.
The Swiss franc, a perceived safe haven along with the yen, was flat at 0.9357 francs per dollar, and up only a third of a percent for the week.
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