Yen Breaks 160 Against Dollar as Asian Stocks Rise and US Rate Bets Persist

Key Facts

The yen briefly fell to 160.03 against the dollar on November 13, breaking above 160 for the first time since early September, Reuters reported. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said recent foreign-exchange moves had been one-sided and rapid. She added that Tokyo would continue close coordination with the US Treasury and respond to currency volatility "appropriately." The breach came as Asian stocks were steadier after a volatile week. South Korea's Kospi rose 2.35%, while Japan's Nikkei added 1.4% in the same session.

The move revived the prospect of Japanese authorities intervening to support the currency, after Tokyo spent a record 15.4 trillion yen, equivalent to 96.47 billion dollars, on interventions carried out over 3 days between July 30 and August 3. On July 31, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York bought 79.4 billion yen in the spot market alongside Tokyo's efforts. That was the first US purchase of yen since 1998, Reuters reported. The dollar-yen pair closed at 159.891 on November 12, after closing at 159.781 the previous day, according to EL7 data. The yen's decline during the session brought the exchange rate close to the range of previous interventions, while Katayama emphasized coordination with Washington without announcing any new action.

In broader markets, Reuters linked the week's turmoil to the fallout from the resignation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and rising US Treasury yields. Investors' reassessment of the US interest-rate path also supported the dollar as yields climbed. Investors considered the possibility that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates by 50 basis points at its December meeting. CME FedWatch data cited by Reuters showed markets pricing a 14.5% probability of the increase, up from zero a week earlier. In Japan, the 10-year government bond yield stood at 2.871% on November 13, according to market data cited by Reuters.

In corporate results, Applied Materials reported record quarterly revenue of 10.41 billion dollars in the fourth quarter of its 2026 fiscal year, up 53% year on year. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were 4.16 dollars, up 92% from the year-earlier period. The company forecast first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of 11.1 billion dollars, plus or minus 500 million dollars, and earnings per share of 4.35 dollars, with a margin of 0.20 dollars in either direction. Its CEO said artificial intelligence was driving strong additional demand for semiconductors. He added that the company expected its semiconductor systems business to grow by more than 40% during calendar year 2026.

Cisco raised its forecast for AI infrastructure revenue from major cloud computing companies to 9 billion dollars in fiscal 2027, more than double the total for fiscal 2026. The company posted revenue of 18.5 billion dollars in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 24% year on year. It also set its fiscal 2027 revenue range at 74.8 billion to 75.8 billion dollars. Cerebras reported revenue of 210.809 million dollars in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 135.714 million dollars in the corresponding quarter of 2025. The company set its core revenue forecast at 940 million to 960 million dollars for 2026, including about 310 million to 330 million dollars in the fourth quarter.

Cerebras reported remaining performance obligations of 26.1 billion dollars as of September 30, 2026, and said its services were expected to become available through Oracle's cloud infrastructure in 2027. In trading on November 12, Cerebras shares closed at 97.75 dollars, down 3.29% for the session, according to Google Finance data. These figures show a divergence between demand indicators reported by semiconductor and infrastructure companies and Cerebras' share performance in the previous session. Meanwhile, Asian stocks were steadier on November 13 after a week of volatility, while US bond yields and expectations for the Federal Reserve's decision remained among the factors investors were tracking. Markets are looking ahead to the December meeting, with a 50-basis-point increase priced in at a probability of 14.5%.