Market News

The Japanese yen turns higher Friday, resuming the advance against the U.S. dollar that was spurred in part by a selloff in Japanese bonds.

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks tumbled back into losses in Friday afternoon trading as the yen strengthened sharply, despite comments from Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's remarks that stability in the local bond market is "extremely desirable" to the central bank. The Nikkei Stock Average, up more than 3% earlier in the day, was down 1% at 14,344.92, after dropping as low as 14,238.45 in volatile trading. The U.S. dollar fell as low as ¥101.13 despite Kuroda's remarks, more than a yen lower than the day's high at ¥102.58.

Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda says it is "extremely desirable" for the nation's debt market to be stable, adding that the central bank will run market operations flexibly and strengthen communication with the market to head off volatility in bond yields.

Japan's Nikkei Average just moved aggressively lower; Now through last night's 'Crash' lows... Currently trading at 14620, and just dropped nearly 400 points in about 5 minutes, but stabilizing a bit now. S&P Futures are exactly Flat after hours, trading now at 1650.

Responding to the recent sharp increases in long-term interest rates, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterates his commitment to fiscal consolidation, as he tries to put aside any doubts about his resolve to undertake painful reforms.

Japanese stocks stage a modest recovery after Thursday's heavy sell-off amid expectations that the Tokyo rally may have further to go, while other Asia markets show more tepid gains.

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Google Inc. may enter a potential bidding war with Facebook Inc. for Israeli mobile-app developer Waze Inc., according to an anonymously sourced Bloomberg News report late Thursday. Earlier news reports had tipped Facebook as conducting advanced talks to buy Waze for between $800 million and $1 billion. The Bloomberg report said Waze was seeking more than $1 billion from Google, and may decide to stay independent and raise financing instead. Waze, based in Israel with a Palo Alto, Calif., U.S. headquarters, makes apps which offer user-generated traffic and navigation information.

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks rebounded early Friday on bargain buying after steep losses in the previous session, with Lenovo Group Ltd. extending gains after solid annual results and most financial stocks rising as Japanese and mainland Chinese shares advanced. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.4% to 22,757.78, after suffering three straight days of losses, including a 2.5% drop Thursday. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 0.6% to 10,805.31. Shares of Lenovo rose 3.7%, on top of the 2.9% advance Thursday in the wake of . Shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. gained 0.7% and Bank of China Ltd. rose 0.8% among banks, with China's Shanghai Composite adding 0.5% to 2,285.98.

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks fell in early trade Friday, extending a selloff that pushed the benchmark to a one-month low Thursday after disappointing data from China, Australia's largest export market. The S&P/ASX 200 turned lower by 0.3% at 5,047.80, following its loss of 2% in the previous session after an in May manufacturing activity in China. Banking stocks lost grip of gains, with Westpac Banking Corp. off 1.3%, and energy issues struggled, with Woodside Petroleum Ltd. down 0.2%. Mining stocks were mixed, with Rio Tinto Ltd. lower by 0.2%, but Newcrest Mining Ltd. up 2.6% after gold futures rallied overnight. In other action, shares of Echo Entertainment Group Ltd. dropped 11% after Crown Ltd. sold a 10% stake in the casino operator. For the week, the S&P/ASX 200 was poised to lose about 2.5%.

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks jumped early Friday, with the Nikkei Stock Average climbing 3.2% after diving 7.3% in the previous session, prompted by some relief buying amid expectations that the rally that began late last year may have further to go. The broader Topix advanced 2.9% after Thursday's 6.9% plunge. A recovery in the U.S. dollar , which climbed back above the ¥102 level after slipping below ¥101 on Thursday, helped to lift exporters, with financials also taking back some of their losses. Shares of Mazda Motor Corp. rebounded 7.7%, Shinsei Bank Ltd. jumped 7.4%, shipping firm Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. gained 7.2%, mobile-service provider Softbank Corp. rose 5.6% and Tokyu Land Corp. was 5.8% higher in a recovery spread across sectors.