Yen Makes a Great Comeback, Asian Stocks Climb – Asia Market Wrap

After falling to its lowest level in 34 years, the yen swiftly recovered, igniting rumours that the government may have stepped in. Asian markets gained.

For the first time since 1990, the Japanese yen dropped below 160 per dollar, however it later recovered to 2%. An other explanation for the erratic movements was the liquidity brought on by the nation’s official holiday. Since late last week, the yen has been weakening as Governor of the Bank of Japan Kazuo Ueda has downplayed the role that the soft currency has in promoting inflation.

The region’s surge was led by Chinese stocks, which added to indications of a recovery in the once-damaged market due to a repatriation of foreign capital and improved profitability. After gaining ground and approaching a technical bull market, the Hang Seng Index pared its gains. Following CIFI Holdings Group’s main developer’s resolution with bondholders over its liquidity concerns, real estate shares saw a sharp increase.

US equities futures increased as well, supporting Friday’s advances of over 1% for the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500.

Bond yields in Australia and New Zealand declined. On Monday, the dollar index fell. Because of the Japanese holiday, US government debt will not trade during Asian hours.