Yen Eases as Stock Gains Warm Risk Sentiment, Brexit Talks Eyed

• Yen Eases as Stock Gains Warm Risk Sentiment, Brexit Talks Eyed

The yen edged lower against all its major peers as Asian stocks gained on improving risk appetite while the pound fell before the start of Brexit negotiations.

Resilience in Japanese stocks helped currency markets brush aside a fall in ratings for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet. New Zealand’s currency rallied on demand from leveraged accounts after the performance services index for May rose. All regional benchmark stock indexes rallied with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average up 0.6 percent while the Hang Seng Index gained 1 percent.

“With stocks on an uptrend for quite some time, and the global economy seen to keep expanding, the general risk positive sentiment is continuing,” said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo. “In that regard, the yen is bound to come under selling pressure.”

The pound fell as Brexit talks begin Monday amid confusion over what the U.K. government wants from the separation. The euro held steady after Emmanuel Macron’s year-old political movement won a large majority in the French parliament Sunday.