USD/JPY bears stay on top despite dollar's spike

USD/JPY lost -0.3% overnight and fell to 103.65 before it ran to test the 104 figure ahead of the Tokyo open, albeit to no avail.

The US dollar fund a bid in late-early Asia with the DXY rallying some 0.2%. 

However, the yen is firm as risk-off elements persist in the coronavirus story while global cases continue to rise, especially in the US.

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Wall Street was under pressure in the final stages of the session leading to the three main gauges to fall, significantly. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 344.93 points, or 1.16%, to 29,438.42, the S&P 500 lost 41.74 points, or 1.16%, to 3,567.79 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 97.74 points, or 0.82%, to 11,801.60.

Meanwhile, the US 2-year treasury yields continued to range between 0.17% and 0.18%, while the 10-year yield rose from 0.88% to 0.92%.

The drop was despite the US drugmaker Pfizer saying that a final analysis of clinical-trial data showed its Covid-19 vaccine was 95% effective, although the news had supported the risk sentiment at the start of the day.

Investors were especially encouraged by te fact that this now means that the company can start to apply this week for the first US regulatory authorization.

Meanwhile, as for data, the US housing starts rose 4.9% in October, stronger than the 3.2% expected, and following a 6.3% gain in September.

''The gains were led by single-family homes. Building permits were unchanged (vs 1.4% gain expected) but remain at the highest level since 2007. The housing market remains buoyant, the pandemic-related shift toward suburbs and single-family homes also supported by historically low mortgage rates,'' analysts at Westpac noted.