Tokyo — The dollar stood near a three-month high against the yen on Friday after increased chances for a near-term US interest rate hike boosted treasury yields that had already gained in the wake of a surge in British and eurozone yields. Upbeat US data, including jobless claims, manufacturing activity and pending home sales, strengthened the case for the Federal Reserve to raise rates by the year-end and lifted treasury yields. Market focus has now turned toward third-quarter US GDP data due out later in the global session. Asian stocks were subdued, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edging down 0.1%, reflecting Wall Street’s unconvincing performance overnight. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.1% and Australian stocks fell 0.4%. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.5% on a weaker yen. Wall Street shared edged lower on Thursday in a choppy session after the latest round of earnings reports, with a decline in the consumer discretionary sector and interest-rate sensitive s...
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