FOREX News -Yen, dlr fall as shares rise, sentiment improves

The yen fell to two-week lows against the dollar and the euro on Friday, while the dollar also fell versus both the euro and perceived higher-risk currencies as investors hope the worst may be over for the global economy. Risk appetite has been boosted by recent global economic data and a note of optimism from the U.S. Federal Reserve earlier this week. Currencies regarded as higher-risk such as the Australian dollar benefited strongly, and a rise in U.S. stock futures also helped sentiment with the S&P 500 futures SPc1 up 0.3 percent. Trading was thin and relatively volatile, however, with European markets closed due to the May Day holiday. "It's very quiet, with movements largely flow-driven, but there's still a slight bid to risk," RBC Capital Markets currency strategist Christian Lawrence said. "Currencies continue to be driven by equities and risk appetite and the riskier, commodity-based currencies have outperformed against the perceived safe-haven yen and dollar," he said. At 1011 GMT, the euro rose 1.2 percent against the yen to 131.86 yen, just shy of an earlier two-week high around 132.00 yen , while the dollar gained 0.8 percent to 99.34 yen , having hit a two-week high around 99.58 yen. The euro rose 0.4 percent against the dollar to $1.3272 , which helped to push the dollar's trade-weighted index down 0.3 percent to 84.554 .DXY.