2017.08.1402:19:00UTC+00Yen, Swiss Franc Fall As Asian Stock Markets Rebound

The safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc weakened against their major currencies in the Asian session on Monday, as Asian stock markets rebounded after the previous session's sell-off. Investors resorted to bargain hunting following the positive cues from Wall Street and worries about rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea eased.

Investor sentiment was also bolstered by better-than-expected Japanese GDP data, while a raft of Chinese economic data missed expectations.

On the economic front, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary reading that Japan's gross domestic product advanced 1.0 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2017. That beat forecasts of a gain of 0.6 percent following the upwardly revised 0.4 percent increase in the three months prior.

On a yearly basis, GDP surged 4.0 percent, again topping expectations for 2.5 percent and up from the upwardly revised 1.5 percent jump in the first quarter.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's industrial production growth eased at a faster-than-expected pace in July. Industrial production climbed 6.4 percent year-over-year in July, slower than the 7.6 percent spike in June. Economists had expected the growth to moderate to 7.1 percent.

Retail sales advanced 10.4 percent annually in July, following a 11.0 percent surge in the prior month. The expected rate of growth for the month was 10.8 percent.

Last Friday, the yen and the Swiss franc had risen against its major rivals. The yen rose 0.39 percent against the euro, 0.20 percent against the pound, 0.03 percent against the U.S. Dollar, and 0.06 percent against the Swiss franc. The Swiss franc had risen 0.06 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.36 percent against the euro, and 0.19 percent against the pound.

In the Asian trading, the yen fell to a 5-day low of 129.65 against the euro and a 4-day low of 142.68 against the pound, from Friday's closing quotes of 129.05 and 142.02, respectively. The yen is likely to find support around 131.00 against the euro and 145.00 against the pound.

Against the Swiss franc, the yen dropped to a 4-day low of 113.63 from an early 5-day high of 113.21. On the downside, 115.00 is seen as the next support level for the yen.

Against the U.S., the Australian, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the yen slid to 4-day lows of 109.64, 86.63, 80.19 and 86.48 from last week's closing quotes of 109.17, 86.15, 79.87 and 86.08, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 111.00 against the greenback, 88.00 against the aussie, 82.00 against the kiwi, and 89.00 against the loonie.

The Swiss franc fell to a 5-day low of 1.1414 against the euro, from Friday's closing value of 1.1372. The franc is likely to find support around the 1.15 region.

Against the pound and the U.S. dollar, the franc dropped to 4-day lows of 1.2565 and 0.9655 from last week's closing quotes of 1.2514 and 0.9619, respectively. If the franc extends its downtrend, it may find support around 1.28 against the pound, and 0.98 against the greenback.

In today's events, Eurozone industrial production for June is due to be released at 5:00 am ET.