Japan stocks jump on weak yen but Asia markets sink

Tokyo's Nikkei rallied Tuesday as the dollar extended gains against the yen on fresh indications the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates again this year, while technology firms tracked a sector rebound on Wall Street. However, most other regional markets struggled after Monday's healthy gains, despite being given a positive lead from Wall Street where the Dow and S&P 500 closed at fresh record highs.

One of the key drivers of Monday's US rally were comments from influential New York Federal Reserve Bank president William Dudley, who reaffirmed the bank's plan to press on with its rate hikes and forecast of higher inflation. He said that despite tepid price rises, he was confident that "if the labour market continues to tighten, wages will gradually pick up".

"Hitting the right chords and sounding dismissive about the recent slowdown in inflation, an unrepentantly hawkish Dudley provided the USD bulls with enough fodder," Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA, said in a note. The remarks came after Fed boss Janet Yellen sounded a more hawkish tone than usual, while the central bank set out plans to wind down its asset holdings to suck cash out of the financial system. The greenback jumped in US trade and kicked on in Asia, heading towards 112 yen for the first time since the end of May.

Tokyo stocks ended 0.8 percent higher, with exporters key winners thanks to the weaker yen, while tech firms bounced after two weeks of sharp losses. However, airbag maker Takata plummeted 20 percent, meaning it has lost a third of its value in just two days following reports it will file for bankruptcy protection and sell its assets to a US company.

Japan's Nikkei business daily said last week the company, with liabilities exceeding $9 billion, would make a formal decision about the filing at a board meeting this month. Other major markets struggled, though. Hong Kong lost 0.3 percent, Sydney fell 0.8 percent and Seoul gave up 0.1 percent. Singapore was marginally lower while Wellington and Manila were also down.

-AFP, Hong Kong