* Yen takes hit as optimism about global economy grows
* Data from China, South Korea supports risk appetite
* Investors wary about U.S. bank stress test results
By Anirban Nag
SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) - The yen fell to two-week lows
against the U.S. dollar and the euro on Friday as investors
grew confident that the pace of global economic decline was
abating, boosting appetite for riskier assets.
Trading was thin, with much of Asia outside Japan, out for
the May Day holiday. The yen <JPY=> was also hurt by data which
showed Japan reporting a drop in core consumer prices, putting
the country in its second round of deflation in less than two
years, while the jobless rate hit a 4-year high. [].
Still, data from other regional powerhouses seemed to
support the view that the worst for the global economy might be
over. Chinese manufacturing gained momentum last month while
South Korean exports fell by less than expected. []
[].
That optimism supported stock markets with Tokyo's Nikkei
<> trading in positive territory on Friday, after ending
up nearly 4 percent higher a day earlier.
"This confidence is spreading in the equity markets and
risk appetite is growing more and more. As a result the yen is
being sold broadly," said Toru Umemoto, chief FX strategist Japan
at Barclays Capital in Tokyo. "Investors are seeking a growth gap
and a rate gap and as a result the yen is a funding currency."
The dollar rose as high as 99.16 yen <JPY=> from 98.60
in New York on Thursday, before paring gains to 98.87.
The climb came just ahead of the local Tokyo fixing at 0100
GMT, with the market slightly short of dollars in thin conditions
ahead of the fix, said Mitsuru Sahara, chief manager at Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
The euro rose to 131.52 yen <EURJPY=R>, its highest since
April 16, before easing back to 131.25 yen.
The Aussie also headed back towards its recent peaks on the
yen, rising to 71.88 yen <AUDJPY=R>, not far from Thursday's
two-week high of 72.56 yen.
Risk appetite has been boosted by a string of better global
economic data <nTOPMACRO> and a note of optimism from the U.S.
Federal Reserve earlier this week. Encouraging U.S. employment
and manufacturing data on Thursday added to a burgeoning
sense of optimism.
ISM DATA AWAITED
The influential U.S. ISM report is due late in the day and
is expected to mark an improvement after economic reports showed
that business activity in the U.S. Midwest contracted at a much
less severe rate in April.
"Investors are looking for signs of economic stability
across the globe," said Jonathan Cavenagh, a currency strategist
at Westpac, Sydney.
"Any signs that data is better or in line with expectations
could lift risk appetite and high-yielding currencies like the
Aussie and the kiwi."
The Aussie <AUD=D4> jumped 5 percent against the U.S.
dollar in April, rising to a seven-month high of $0.7384 on
Thursday. The greenback fell 5.2 percent on the Canadian dollar
<CAD=>, its biggest monthly drop since September, 2007.
The euro <EUR=> was at $1.3270, off a two-week high of
$1.3384, with gains capped by uncertainty about whether the
European Central Bank will opt to follow the Federal Reserve
and embrace unorthodox policy measures such as buying
securities to stimulate growth.
The dollar index <.DXY> against a basket of currencies fell
0.2 percent to 84.620 after hitting its lowest in nearly a month
on Thursday.
So far investors are concentrating on signs of green shoots
in the global economy, but sentiment remains vulnerable to
jitters over a flu virus breakout as Mexico began shutting
down parts of its economy to slow the spread of the virus.
<nFLU>
Even news that U.S. automaker Chrysler filed for bankruptcy
on Thursday failed to have much impact on currency markets.
But, analysts said, there would be a degree of caution
ahead of next week's release of the stress test results of
individual U.S. banks. []
"Currency investors will be wary of taking huge positions
ahead of those results," said Westpac's Cavenagh.
If banks fail the stress test and need additional capital,
risk appetite could take a beating and currencies like the Aussie
and the New Zealand dollar could drop.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Joseph Radford)
