* Dollar back below 85 yen as intervention talk not
confirmed
* Buying of exporters helps Nikkei cut losses
* Broad market weakens after U.S. jobless numbers jump
By Elaine Lies and Kevin Plumberg
TOKYO/HONG KONG, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The yen regained some
of the losses it suffered on Friday with no confirmation of
rumours Japan was intervening for the second time this month.
The intervention talk had helped Japanese equities cut
their losses on strength in exporter stocks, but the benchmark
index drifted lower later in the day.
European shares opened lower after latest U.S. jobless
claims figures added to persistent concerns that the global
economic recovery was still fragile.
Britain's FTSE 100 <> was down 0.3 percent, Germany's
DAX <> fell 0.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 <>
eased as much as 0.4 percent.
The MSCI index for Asia ex-Japan stocks <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was
flat following the U.S. jobless data, although the benchmark is
up one percent on the week. It is just off a five month peak
struck earlier this week.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yuan showdown with Washington?
http://r.reuters.com/haz94p
Eye on yen intervention:
http://r.reuters.com/zuz33p
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Initial U.S. claims for state unemployment benefits
increased 12,000 to 465,000 last week, the Labor Department
said on Thursday, breaking two straight weeks of declines.
Financial markets had forecast claims steady at 450,000.
[]
Japan's Nikkei share average finished down 1 percent after
initially climbing on the yen intervention talk. Rising
diplomatic tensions between Japan and China also weighed on
sentiment.
"The Nikkei was only briefly helped by the talk of
intervention, especially since it's hard to tell if any such
move actually took place," said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio
manager at Daiwa SB Investments.
"There's a lot of risk factors that have suddenly emerged,
such as the situation with China, and this is making it very
hard for the Nikkei to rise."
The dollar rose as high as 85.40 yen <JPY=> from about
84.55 yen in a matter of minutes, and several traders said it
looked like the Bank of Japan, which acts on behalf of the
Ministry of Finance, had been selling yen. The currency drifted
back towards 84.70 yen on the lack of confirmation on
government intervention.
"Given that this would be the second time (for
intervention) and not as much of a surprise, I think the impact
would be pretty limited at best," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head
of dealing with Jujiya Securities in Tokyo. "Even now, it seems
tough for the dollar to hang on to the 85 yen level, and this
will make it hard for the Nikkei to rise substantially in
turn."
Japan intervened on Sept. 15 minutes after the dollar hit a
15-year low of 82.87 yen, selling an estimated 2 trillion yen
($23.70 billion), its largest single-day yen selling
intervention. Also pressuring the dollar were shrinking yield
gaps between the dollar and the yen.
Oil fell below $75 as investor unease about the global
economic recovery spread across markets after lacklustre U.S.
employment and housing data.
($1=84.37 Yen)
