Yen gains in Asia

TOKYO: The yen rose against the dollar and euro Tuesday as cautious investors retreated to the Japanese currency after two of Wall Street´s main indexes slid from its recent record highs.

The dollar weakened to 101.75 yen in Tokyo midday trade from 101.87 yen late in New York and 102.11 yen in Tokyo earlier Monday.

The euro slipped to 138.45 yen from 138.59 yen, while it was nearly flat at $1.3606 against $1.3604 in US trade.

Investors tend to seek out safe-haven currencies perceived to be lower risk, such as the yen, during times of uncertainty.

On returning from a long weekend, equities in New York retreated Monday on profit-taking after the Dow and S&P 500 ended at all-time highs at the end of last week in response to a better-than-expected rise in US jobs. US corporate earnings for the second quarter are a key trading peg for gauging future US stock prices, which may give direction to the dollar-yen rate, said Junichi Ishikawa, market analyst at IG Securities.

"The focus for now is whether the pair (dollar-yen) can break above 102.40," he added.

On Wednesday investors will be watching closely as the Federal Reserve releases the minutes from its most recent policy meeting.

And sentiment may get a boost from Chinese inflation and trade data this week if the figures point to a strengthening in the world´s number two economy.

The euro held up relatively well despite European stock markets turning down after Germany posted its third monthly decline in factory output.