Yen Eyes Largest Daily Gain Since Financial Crisis

The yen was on track Monday to record its best one-day gain against the dollar since the financial crisis as a sharp selloff in Chinese stocks rattled global markets. The yen has performed so well Monday for two reasons, said Matt Weller, senior technical analyst at Forex.com. One is the country's history of low interest rates has made it a safe-haven among the major currencies, Weller said. Investors reflexively buy the yen when market risk is on the rise. The Japanese currency is also benefiting from the rout in emerging-markets currencies, as investors who are selling the Turkish lira and Brazilian real buy back the yen used to fund those trades. The dollar recently traded at 117.27 yen, down 3.8% on the day, according to FactSet data.