Yen Stabilizes Near 12-Week High Amid Mixed Performance in Asia-Pacific Markets

The yen stabilized near a 12-week high against the dollar, with Asia-Pacific equity markets showing mixed results after a significant drop. Taiwan's tech-heavy index fell sharply, while Australia and South Korea observed gains. U.S. futures pointed higher. Economic growth and cooling inflation in the U.S. provided some optimism.

On Friday, the yen stabilized near a 12-week high against the dollar, while Asia-Pacific equity markets regained some stability following their worst session since mid-April. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares was just 0.06% lower, recovering slightly from a 1.88% plunge the previous day.

Much of the weakness stemmed from Taiwan, which reopened after a two-day typhoon-caused closure, slumping 3.53% as its tech-heavy equity index caught up with global market losses. Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.12%, failing to maintain earlier gains, yet Australia's benchmark added 0.79%, and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.89%.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng increased by 0.21% and mainland blue chips remained flat. In the U.S., stock futures indicated a rebound after consecutive days of selling, with S&P 500 futures rising 0.43% and Nasdaq futures advancing 0.53%. Economic data from overnight in the U.S. suggested better-than-expected growth and cooling inflation, dispelling fears of an abrupt end to economic expansion and supporting expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September.