Early trade in New York: Risk-off move boosts yen against dollar

The US dollar fell against the Japanese yen on Thursday morning, though it was steady against the euro, on diminished risk appetite amid ongoing political turmoil in Hong Kong and weak data from Asia and Europe.

The Japanese yen and Swiss franc, both safe-haven assets, were up 0.23% and 0.21% against the dollar in early trade. That risk-off move also bolstered US Treasury bond prices and hit the Dow Jones and Nasdaq indexes, all common risk-off market reactions.

"The developments in Hong Kong that started Asia off on a negative note, the ongoing turmoil that's going on in Latin America, in particular Chile," were driving trade this morning said Paresh Upadhyaya, director of currency strategy and portfolio manager at Amundi Pioneer Investments.

The dollar, however, was higher against the euro in mid-morning trade. The dollar generally gains toward the end of the year as investors wind down trading, and demand has been strengthened this year by higher interest rates and stronger economic growth in the United States.