CURRENCIES: Dollar And Yen Rise As Asian Stocks Plunge

The dollar and yen got a lift against major rivals in Asian trading Monday, as a regional sell-off led by Chinese shares sent investors into the perceived safety of lower-yielding currencies.

Chinese stocks suffered their worst fall since November, hammered by falling commodity prices and concerns over liquidity-tightening measures. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 5.8% to 2,830.63.

Shenzhen's main share index plunged 6.6%.

Japan's Nikkei ended down 3.1% despite gross domestic product data that confirmed the world's second-largest economy pulled out of recession in the April-June quarter.

The dollar bought 94.53, down from 94.86 yen in late North American trading on Friday.

The dollar index (DXY), which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, rose to 79.171, compared to 78.906 late Friday.

"The fall in Chinese equities pulled Asian bourses and U.S. stock futures down lower while resulting in a bid tone for safe-haven currencies, with U.S. dollar and Japanese yen outperforming across the board," said Christian Lawrence, strategist at RBC Capital Markets.

"Japanese data was largely ignored," he said in emailed comments.

The euro was trading at $1.4122, down from $1.4169 late Friday, and the British pound bought $1.6349, down from $1.6494.