Yen holds steady against dollar as Asian stocks weaken

The yen held steady near a 12-week high against the dollar on Friday, while Asia-Pacific equity markets continued to struggle following 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, News.Az reports citing Reuters.

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%.

U.S. stock futures also pointed higher, with S&P 500 futures rising 0.36% and Nasdaq futures advancing 0.45%.

U.S. 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.

News.Az