Yen Advances As Most Asian Markets Fall

The Japanese yen climbed against its major counterparts in late Asian deals on Monday, reversing early losses, as most Asian shares declined following the negative cues from Wall Street on Friday amid worries about the fate of proposed U.S. tax reform. Investors focused on ability of the Republicans to push through their tax overhaul this year. Last week, the Senate Republicans unveiled their version of the tax reform plan that had differences from the House of Representatives' version. With few signs of compromise, investors are worried over possibility of a delay in the legislation that is planned to pass before the year end. Data from the Bank of Japan showed that Japan's producer prices rose 0.3 percent on month in October.

That exceeded expectations for a gain of 0.1 percent and was unchanged from the September reading following an upward revision from 0.2 percent.

The currency showed mixed trading on Friday. While it held steady against the greenback and the franc, it dropped against the euro and the pound.

The yen rose to 113.38 against the greenback and 132.16 against the euro, off its early 4-day low of 113.71 and a weekly low of 132.60, respectively. The next possible resistance for the yen is seen around 112.00 against the greenback and 131.00 against the euro.

The yen advanced to 4-day highs of 113.82 against the franc and 148.78 against the pound, from its early lows of 114.08 and 149.68, respectively. If the yen rises further, 111.00 and 147.00 are likely seen as its next resistance levels against the franc and the pound, respectively.

The yen bounced off to 78.59 against the kiwi and 89.41 against the loonie, from its early lows of 78.80 and 89.61, respectively. On the upside, 77.00 and 88.00 are possibly seen as the next resistance levels for the yen against the kiwi and the loonie, respectively.

The yen rose back to 86.88 against the aussie, just few pips short of its early 4-day high of 86.80. This may compared to a low of 87.09 hit at 10:55 pm ET. Continuation of the yen's uptrend may see it challenging resistance around the 85.00 region.

The Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Guy Debelle said that there has been a solid upward trajectory in non-mining business investment over the past couple of years.

Earlier non-mining investment was weak due to firms' subdued expectations of future demand, while mining investment strengthened on higher expectations, Debelle said.

Looking ahead, the European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio gives Keynote speech at Opening Conference of 20th Euro Finance Week in Frankfurt, Germany, at 4:00 am ET.

In the New York session, U.S. budget statement for October is due.