Dollar recovers from 5-month low
U.S. stocks rally on hopes that corporate earnings may not be as bad as earlier feared.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The dollar rose against the yen on Monday, rebounding from a five-month low, as hopes that U.S. corporate earnings may not be as weak as initially feared sparked gains on Wall Street.
The euro also gained after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet sounded a bit more upbeat about euro-zone growth for the rest of 2009.
Stocks rose after a bank analyst upgraded Goldman Sachs, sparking hopes for decent bank earnings this week.
That reversed earlier gains for the yen and dollar, which tend to rise when investors grow anxious and sell stocks, commodities and other risky assets that are often financed with cheaply borrowed dollars and yen.
"We've had quite a turnaround here as people have received some reassurance on earnings, though there are still hurdles ahead," said Camilla Sutton, senior currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
The U.S. dollar hit a five-month trough of ¥91.73 on electronic trading platform EBS before recovering to trade at ¥92.79, up about 0.3% from late Friday.
Wall Street's rise helped dull concern about the Japanese ruling party's loss in an election on Sunday, which raised speculation the party may lose national elections in August.
But the upcoming elections still "have the potential to lead to a period of uncertainty" regarding the yen, said Nick Bennenbroek, head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank in New York. "The Japanese yen is the most notable example of a G10 currency that has broken out of its recent trading range."
The euro rose 0.6% to ¥129.69 and 0.4% versus the dollar to $1.3982, boosted partly by higher stocks.
Meanwhile, commodity-linked, high-yield currencies such as the Australian dollar rebounded from an eight-week low against the yen touched earlier.
Disappointing U.S. employment and consumer sentiment data in recent weeks has soured the market mood, some traders said. If earnings do disappoint, risk aversion could return.
"Everybody is more cautious -- on the economy and on corporate earnings -- and there's a more pessimistic view for the third and fourth quarters," said Hidetoshi Yanagihara, senior currency trader at Mizuho Corporate Bank in New York. He said attendant risk aversion should continue pushing the dollar toward 90 yen.
Goldman Sachs Group (GS, Fortune 500) , JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM, Fortune 500) and Citigroup Inc. (C, Fortune 500) are to report earnings this week.
"Earnings kicked off this past week but the real action begins in earnest with bank earnings in the week ahead," said Brian Dolan, chief currency strategist at FOREX.com, in Bedminster, N.J.
"With banks at the epicenter of the financial crisis, a return to profitability in this space will be needed before the "all clear" can be declared," he added.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Monday that a global economic recovery still faces risks, but added there was a "good chance" the U.S. and other leading economies would begin growing over the next two quarters.
Minutes from the last Federal Reserve policy meeting and a Bank of Japan meeting, due for release later in the week, will be closely watched. 
