By Supriya Singh,
The yen recouped part of its recent sharp loss, rebounding to the 142 zone against the U.S. dollar on Friday in Tokyo on growing expectations that Japan's government and central bank will move to address the yen's depreciation.
Tokyo stocks continued their advance as investors took heart from an overnight rise in U.S. shares and the European Central Bank suggesting it would slow the pace of interest rate hikes in the euro area.
The yen, which traded in the lower 144 range to the dollar in New York on Thursday, recovered to the lower 142 level in Tokyo after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda to discuss the yen's rapid decline to levels unseen over the past 24 years.
At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 142.35-37 yen compared with 144.06-16 yen in New York and 143.81-83 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The euro was quoted at $1.0095-0097 and 143.71-75 yen against $0.9993-1.0003 and 144.02-12 yen in New York and $0.9981-9983 and 143.54-58 yen in Tokyo late Thursday afternoon.
After the meeting, Kuroda warned that recent developments are undesirable as rapid fluctuations in the yen's exchange rates could negatively affect companies and increase uncertainty in the economy.
The remark prompted traders to adjust their positions before the weekend, dealers said.
"Market participants have been nervous" following the recent series of warnings from government and BOJ officials, said Yuji Saito, head of the foreign exchange department at Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank in Tokyo.
Kuroda's comment also fanned speculation that "the BOJ may tweak its monetary policy in a bid to halt the yen's slide," said Tomoichiro Kubota, senior market analyst at Matsui Securities Co.
Related coverage:
Bank of Japan chief warns rapid yen movements "unfavorable"
The BOJ's ultraloose monetary policy is widely seen as causing the yen to weaken against the dollar and euro at a time when the bank's U.S. and eurozone counterparts have continued their aggressive interest rate hikes.
The ECB raised its key interest rate by an unprecedented 0.75 percentage point the previous day to tame rising inflation, pulling the yen to its weakest level against the euro since January 2015 in the upper 144 range on Friday morning in Tokyo.
At a press conference following a policy meeting, ECB President Christine Lagarde suggested the size of its future rate hikes could be smaller.
On the stock market, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 149.47 points, or 0.53 percent, from Thursday at 28,214.75. The broader Topix index finished 7.91 points, or 0.40 percent, higher at 1,965.53.
Gainers were led by marine transportation, electric power and gas, and service issues on the top-tier Prime Market.
Technology shares were mostly higher following gains in their U.S. counterparts overnight, with chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron rising 480 yen, or 1.1 percent, to 42,930 yen.
Among Prime Market issues, advancing issues outnumbered decliners 1,205 to 535, while 97 ended unchanged.
Trading volume on the Prime Market rose to 1,224.70 million shares from Thursday's 1,207.65 million.
The yield on the bellwether 10-year Japanese government bond was unchanged from Thursday's close at 0.245 percent.
Related coverage:
FOCUS: As yen looks set to weaken, intervention seen a drop in bucket
Japan dangles threat of all options to arrest rapid yen declines
Japan warns of possible intervention to address "one-sided" yen moves
