Stock market today: Asian benchmarks are mixed as Tokyo sips on strong yen

BY YURI KAGEYAMA

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares traded mixed Thursday as Tokyo’s benchmark plunged as the U.S. dollar sank against the yen.

Regional investors are also digesting the rally on Wall Street that came on hopes U.S. cuts to interest rates will be arriving soon.

A strong yen is a plus for Japan’s purchases but hurts the nation’s giant exporters like Toyota Motor Corp., by eroding the value of overseas profits.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 2.5% to 38,126.33. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.3% to 8,114.70. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.3% to 2,777.68. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped less than 0.1% to 17,340.31, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.2% to2,933.81.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 150.21 Japanese yen from 149.92 yen. The euro cost $1.0815, little changed from $1.0830. The dollar had been trading at 160-yen levels several weeks ago. But that reversed course as