Yen Advances As Abe's Approval Ratings Slide

The Japanese yen drifted higher against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Monday, as approval ratings for Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nosedived in the wake of cronyism scandal and protesters called for his resignation.

Survey by Nippon TV published on Sunday showed that the support for Abe fell to a record low of 26.7 percent.

A poll published by the Asahi newspaper Monday showed the Cabinet's approval rate was just 31 percent, while the ratio of voters who disapprove the LDP presidency rose to 52 percent from 48 percent.

Thousand of protesters, who gathered in front of the Japanese diet, called for his resignation over the weekend.

Asian stock markets are mostly lower amid cautious trades with the weak cues from Wall Street on Friday and geopolitical tensions following the U.S.-led strikes on Syria dampening investor sentiment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Sunday that further Western attacks on Syria would result in world chaos, as Washington prepared to impose new sanctions against Russia to punish it for enabling the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons in its civil war.

The yen climbed to 4-day highs of 111.24 against the Swiss franc, 107.13 against the greenback and 132.12 against the euro, reversing from its early lows of 111.71, 107.61 and 132.65, respectively. The yen is seen finding resistance around 110.5 against the franc, 106.00 against the greenback and 131.00 against the euro.

The yen reversed from its early lows of 85.38 against the loonie and 79.12 against the kiwi, rising to 4-day highs of 84.90 and 78.71, respectively. The next possible resistance for the yen is seen around 83.00 against the loonie and 76.00 against the kiwi.

The yen advanced to 152.66 against the pound and 83.11 against the aussie, coming off from its previous lows of 153.33 and 83.65, respectively. If the yen rises further, 151.00 and 82.00 are possibly seen as its next resistance levels against the pound and the aussie, respectively.

Looking ahead, U.S. retail sales for March, business inventories for February, New York Fed manufacturing index and NAHB housing market index for April are scheduled for release in the New York session.

At 1:15 pm ET, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks about the economy at the Shoals Chamber of Commerce, in Alabama.