The yen took a breather from its rally against the dollar
Asian stocks closed mostly higher today, as investors closely watch the beginning of U.S. earnings season. Stocks in Japan again
took their cues from the yen, as the currency took a breather from its
rally against the dollar, helping the Nikkei to a 1.1% win -- its best day in roughly one month. South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng managed respective wins of 0.6% and 0.3%, though Chinese stocks underperformed. Specifically, the Shanghai Composite edged 0.3% lower, with traders concerned that a recently announced batch of initial public offerings (IPO) could further dilute financial markets.
In Europe, stocks are cautiously higher, with mining stocks outperforming on solid diamond sales for Anglo American. However, luxury stocks are sliding after LVMH announced disappointing revenue for the first quarter, citing a slowdown in tourism. At last check, the FTSE 100 had ticked 0.02% higher, France's CAC 40 was up 0.1%, and Germany's DAX had added 0.2%.
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