Yen Jumps as US and Japan Intervene, Oil Prices Plunge

Asian stocks were mixed on Monday after the US and Japan confirmed they had intervened to prop up the value of the Japanese yen against the US dollar. The yen jumped to its highest level since late last year, reaching as high as 155.20 against the dollar. This move is expected to boost the profits of Japanese companies with big operations overseas, but it also weakens Japan's purchasing power overall.

The Nikkei 225 index in Japan lost 1.9% to 63,140.68, while the Kospi in South Korea dropped 4.5% to 6,298.75. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 0.6%, but the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.5%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2%.

The lull in fighting in the Middle East helped take oil prices down about 5%. U.S. benchmark crude fell to $80.58 per barrel, while Brent crude dropped to $83.87 per barrel.