FXStreet (Mumbai) – After bottoming near 119.50 levels in early Asian hours, the USD/JPY pair recovers partial losses and keeps range around 119.70 as the Japanese yen remains well bid on the back of falling Asian equities.
USD/JPY capped below 120 handle
Currently, the USD/JPY pair trades -0.22% lower at 119.66, unable to resist 120 barrier. The major remains heavy mainly driven by yen strength, boosted by increased safe-haven bids as Asian stocks market tumble on intensifying global growth concerns.
Among the major Asian indices, the Japanese benchmark, the Nikkei plunges -2.77% to 17,155 points while China’s Shanghai Composite drops -1.76% to 3,046. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng re-opened sharply lower, now sinking over -3% at 20,465.
The global stocks rout was triggered by mounting China slowdown concerns and a massive fall in Glencore stocks on Monday, which deepened the recent sell-off witnessed across the board.
Looking ahead, the pair is likely to track the broader market sentiment amid lack of fresh fundamental triggers until the NY session. Consumer confidence and goods trade balance data from the US will be released later today.
USD/JPY Technical levels to consider
To the upside, the next resistance is located 120 (Today’s High) levels and above which it could extend 120.64 (Sept 22 High). To the downside immediate support might be located at 119.21 (Sept 24 Low) below that at 119.03 (Sept 18 Low) levels.
(Market News Provided by FXstreet)