The yen was firm around the 148 line against the U.S. dollar early Wednesday in Tokyo as weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data fanned speculation that the Federal Reserve will soon slow the pace of interest rate hikes.
At 9 a.m., the dollar fetched 147.97-148.00 yen compared with 147.91-148.01 yen in New York and 148.92-94 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The euro was quoted at $0.9960-9964 and 147.38-47 yen against $0.9964-9974 and 147.38-48 yen in New York and $0.9855-9857 and 146.77-81 in Tokyo late Tuesday afternoon.
Tokyo stocks opened higher, inheriting a positive trend from Wall Street where hopes for slowing U.S. rate hikes boosted investor sentiment.
In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 232.94 points, or 0.85 percent, from Tuesday to 27,483.22. The broader Topix index was up 13.39 points, or 0.70 percent, at 1,920.53.
On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by precision instrument, service, and real estate issues.
