TOKYO: The dollar was steady against the yen in Asia trade Thursday, with improvement in risk sentiment in stock markets prompting sales of the Japanese currency, which is often considered a safe haven.
The U.S. dollar USDJPY, +0.00% was at ¥119.97, compared with ¥119.95 late Wednesday in New York.
The greenback firmed against the yen from early Asian trade, tracking overnight its gain encouraged by a rebounding stock market on the Wall Street and upbeat U.S. durable manufactured goods orders.
Market participants said the solid stock market performance in Asia, including in Tokyo and Shanghai, helped improve risk sentiment and support the dollar.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei Stock Average NIK, +1.15% was up 1.1% midday at 18,584.26, on the track to close higher for the second consecutive session after climbing 3.2% Wednesday.
After opening with a 1.7% gain, the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, +1.03% was recently trading up 1.5%.
The dollar briefly turned down to touch as low as ¥119.82 early in Tokyo, following the Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda’s speech before audiences in New York. But the greenback later bounced to stay above the ¥120-mark for the most of the session.
