The Japanese yen strengthened across the board on Tuesday in early European trading as a slide in most Asian and European stocks propelled traders to seek safe-haven currencies. The yen rose to a 1-week high against the pound and multi-day highs against the rest of majors, barring the Swiss franc.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.81%, South Korea's Kospi Composite fell 0.26%, Taiwan's weighted average dropped 0.08%, Australia's All ordinaries index slipped 0.06% and China's Shanghai composite slumped 0.10%.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's NZX-50 was marginally up by 0.99%, Bombay stock exchange advanced 0.33% and Hong Kong's Hangseng rose 0.01%.
Turning to Europe, U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is currently down 0.37%, France's CAC 40 is trading lower at 0.74% and Germany's DAX is presently down 0.51%.
The Bank of Japan maintained its key interest rate at near-zero at the end of its two-day policy meeting today. It also promised to take more policy actions if judged necessary to kick start the deflation-ravaged economy.
In an unanimous vote, the policy board of the central bank, led by Governor Masaaki Shirakawa decided to leave the uncollateralized overnight call rate unchanged at 0.10%. Rates have been frozen at their record low since December 2008.
The decision was widely anticipated by markets after the central bank eased its already ultra-loose policy last month by increasing the amount of low-interest loans available to the money market to JPY 30 trillion from JPY 20 trillion, to encourage more lending by banks and spending by consumers.
In economic news, Japan's leading indicator declined in July after rising in June, preliminary data from the Cabinet Office showed today. The corresponding index fell to 98.2 from 99 in June. The reading came in line with economists' expectations.
Meanwhile, the coincident index rose to 101.8 from 101.3 in June. The coincident index reading also came in line with consensus forecast. At the same time, the lagging index came in at 85.7, up from 83.5 in June.
The yen advanced to a 1-week high of 128.83 against the pound around 2:40 am ET and a move above the 128.70 resistance could set its strongest in nearly 3-1/2 months. Currently, the pound-yen pair is quoted at 129.13.
U.K. retail sales were up 1% compared to the same period a year ago on a like-for-like basis in August, the British Retail Consortium said today. Total sales increased 2.8%.
Recouping most of its early Asian session losses, the yen advanced to as high as 82.99 against the Swiss franc before holding steady around 3:25 am ET. The franc-yen pair is presently worth 83.05, compared to a 2-day low of 83.43 hit earlier in the Asian session.
Switzerland's unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6% in August as expected, while the number of unemployed persons increased modestly, official figures showed today.
The yen soared up to a 6-day high of 107.32 against the euro around 2:40 am ET and the next likely resistance level for the domestic unit is seen at 107.0. The euro-yen pair is presently quoted at 107.36.
Earlier in the day, the euro lost ground after a report from the Association of German Banks estimated that Germany's ten biggest lenders, including Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG, will need an additional EUR 105 billion in fresh capital to meet estimated new Tier 1 capital ratios.
The yen also advanced to a 6-day high of 83.80 against the US dollar around 3:25 am ET and is approaching its August 24th high of 83.60, which could set its peak in more than 15-years. The greenback-yen pair is presently trading at 83.90.
The yen appreciated by 1 percent to reach a 4-day high of 76.43 against the Australian dollar around 3:30 am ET from its early Asian session's low of 77.33. The aussie-yen pair is presently worth 76.46 with 76.0 seen as the next likely target level.
The aussie edged down after the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to retain the rate at 4.5% for the fourth consecutive month. Though the decision was widely expected, the overall tone of the Central Bank statement failed to attract investors to the resource-linked aussie.
The yen advanced to a 4-day high of 80.61 against the Canadian dollar and 60.34 versus the NZ dollar around 3:30 am ET and the next likely resistance levels for the domestic currency are seen at 79.90 and 60.10, respectively. At present, the Japanese currency is trading at 60.36 against the kiwi and 80.63 versus the loonie.
Looking ahead, Germany's Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology is expected to release factory orders data for July at 6:00 am ET.
There are no major economic data due out from the North American session today.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.