Yen steady with focus on stocks, appetite for risk

TOKYO, Mar 20 (Reuters) The yen was mostly steady against other major currencies on Tuesday and hovered near a 2 { week low against the euro as investors focused on moves in equities markets to gauge investors' appetite for risk.

The yen has rallied since late February as a sell-off in global stock markets prompted investors to shy away from risk and unwind yen carry trades, in which investors sell the low-yielding yen and buy higher-yielding currencies and assets.

With Tokyo share prices seen opening higher following a rally in U.S. shares on Monday, the yen seems likely to stay pressured after dipping to a 2 { week low of 156.59 yen against the euro in the previous session, said a trader for a Japanese trust bank.

''There is a perception that the Nikkei share average may edge higher,'' the trader said, adding that the yen was also likely to be hurt by Japanese importers' dollar demand.

The dollar stood at 117.52 yen as of 2325 GMT, little changed from late U.S. trading.

The euro edged up to 156.46 yen from around 156.35 yen in late New York trade.

The Nikkei average is seen opening higher on Tuesday, with a wide range of blue-chip shares such as Toyota Motor Corp. lifted by a rise on Wall Street.

U.S. stocks rallied on Monday with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 0.96 percent to finish at 12,226.17.

The Bank of Japan is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.50 percent at a two-day policy meeting that ends on Tuesday, and the focus will be on a post-meeting news conference by BOJ Governor Toshihiko Fukui.

REUTERS SBA PM0530