 yen up aussie down in currency markets sydney nov 18 reuters  stock markets slipped on thursday and safe havens such as government bonds gold and the yen were supported in asia as a hint of uneasiness crept in over the outlook for interest rates and growth particularly outside of the united states oil prices skidded to a sixweek low on concern about a supply overhang and the prospect of china japan and the united states dipping into their fuel reserves with brent futures last at 7977 more than 8 off last month’s threeyear high the risksensitive australian dollar also fell to a sixweek trough of 07256 japan’s nikkei was down 06 in early trade msci’s broadest index of asian shares outside japan dropped 05 and sp 500 futures were flat after the index eased a little bit overnight the mood was softest in hong kong where concern over the earnings outlook weighed on tech stocks and an almost 5 drop in heavyweight alibaba dragged the hang seng about 1 lower “we do seem to have stalled somewhat as we head into the year end” said jun bei liu a portfolio manager at tribeca investment partners in sydney “investors perhaps are just taking a bit of pause” she said in the wake of a strong us results season but as inflation and china’s slowdown loom as macroeconomic headwinds the yen a safehaven asset which has also lately been sensitive to oil prices had its sharpest oneday jump against the dollar in three months on wednesday while gold rose almost 1 and treasuries rallied along the curve gold rose a further 01 to 1869 an ounce in asia on thursday the yen edged up to 11394 per dollar benchmark 10year treasury yields were steady in tokyo at 15889 after falling about 55 basis points overnight the day ahead is quiet on the calendar with appearances from central bankers in australia the united states and europe and us jobless claims data the highlights against the backdrop of apparent caution is a surging us dollar as us data has turned surprisingly strong just as doubts have arisen over the outlook for other major economies on wednesday figures showed a jump in building permits and the backlog of house construction rose to a 15year high  underscoring strong demand on the heels of a betterthanexpected retail sales report on tuesday by contrast europe is grappling with a fourth wave of covid19 cases and fresh restrictions to curb it while the central bank is pushing back on pressure to raise rates the euro has recovered from a trip below 113 on wednesday but remains shaky at 11325 and is braced for its worst month on the dollar since june when the federal reserve had surprised investors with a hawkish shift in tone currency traders are also assessing a sharp downdraft in the aussieyen cross often a barometer of market sentiment it fell through its 200day moving average on tuesday and has lost almost 4 in a dozen sessions “you’ve got the perfect storm there for bears” said matt simpson senior analyst at brokerage city index “fundamentally and technically aussieyen looks pretty good with lower oil prices”