TOKYO: The yen stabilized near a 12-week high against the dollar on Friday while Asia-Pacific equity markets remained on the back foot a day after their worst session since mid-April.
Regional stocks took their cues from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped further after Wednesday’s frenetic selling.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares fell 0.55% on Friday, extending the 1.88% tumble from the previous day.
Taiwan’s stock benchmark slumped 3.3% as it reopened from a two-day closure due to a typhoon.
Japan’s Nikkei eased 0.07% after failing to sustain earlier gains.
However, some markets rebounded, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.74% and Australia’s benchmark adding 0.85%.
US stock futures also pointed higher, with S&P 500 futures rising 0.36% and Nasdaq futures advancing 0.45%.
US economic data from overnight gave some cause for optimism, with economic growth faster than expected in the second quarter and inflation cooling.
That helped dispel worries that the expansion was in danger of an abrupt end, while also supporting wagers for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September.
Friday’s release of the PCE deflator, one of the Fed’s preferred price gauges, will be “the next test, and arguably climax to the week’s trade,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com.
“There are concerns about upside risk to the current consensus estimate for the PCE Index,” Rodda said.
Asian stocks meander after US tech earns disappoint; yen firms
American Dollar Exchange Rate