All eyes on yen, after the currency hits ¥‎100 per dollar

All eyes were on the All eyes were on the Japanese currency after reaching ¥ 100 per dollar in a single night. Impact on the yen were also the muted inflation data from the US, which cast further doubt on the prospect of the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by year end.

The Japanese market proved resilient despite the overall strength of the currency, which is quite unfavorable for exports. Topix rose 0.6% and Nikkei rose 0.7%.

With the rise of the yen, investors turned their attention to BoJ meeting in September. The Bank is under pressure to take further action after monetary policy stimulus in July,  were quite small. According to Merrill Lynch, only 13% of global investors believe that BoJ and the ECB will eliminate negative interest rates next year, while 39% consider the option of "helicopter money" will be undertaken by some major banks.

BAML strategist says he believes the BoJ will strengthen its monetary policy and not simply extend their existing benefits.

Asian currencies were lower across the board, with the New Zealand dollar down 0.3 per cent against its US counterpart in spite of encouraging jobs data. The Australian dollar was 0.3 per cent lower, too, as Moody’s affirmed its triple A credit rating on the country and data showed national wages tracked sideways in the June quarter.

Asian currencies were at lower levels: the New Zealand dollar fell 0.3 percent against the USD, despite positive data from the employment change. The Australian dollar was also 0.3 percent lower after Moody confirmed the AAA credit rating on the country and data showe national wages tracked sideways in the June quarter.

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