Asian shares mostly dip as the yen rises against the U.S. dollar

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly declined Monday, as Japan's benchmark took a tumble after the yen surged against the U.S. dollar.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 1.9% to 52,812.45 on selling of big exporters like Toyota Motor Corp., whose shares fell 3.2%.

A weak currency is generally favorable for Japanese exporters because it helps elevate the value of their overseas earnings. In recent months, the dollar has gained against the yen. It fell sharply in the past few days after officials in both Japan and the U.S. indicated they were prepared to intervene to support the yen.

The dollar slipped to 154.26 Japanese yen from 155.01 yen. It had been trading around 158 yen last week.

The euro rose to $1.1866 from $1.1858.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.6% to 4,961.58.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched down 0.1% to 26,722.89, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.1% to 4,141.10.

Markets were closed in Australia, New Zealand, India and Indonesia.

U.S. futures edged lower on persisting uncertainty over U.S. tariff policies, among other issues.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%.

A threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose a 100% tariff on goods from Canada was countered by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Trump had warned he might hike tariffs if Canada signed a free trade deal with China. Carney said Canada had no plans for such a deal.

In 2024, Canada mirrored the United States by putting a 100% tariff on electric vehicles from Beijing and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum. China had responded by imposing 100% import taxes on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% on pork and seafood.

Breaking with the United States this month during a visit to China, Carney cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on those Canadian products.

On Friday, the S&P 500 edged up less than 0.1% to 6,915.61. But it still notched a second straight week with a modest loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.6% to 49,098.71. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3% to 23,501.24.

The majority of stocks on Wall Street fell, and Intel weighed on the market after tumbling 17%.

The next chance for the U.S. Federal Reserve to move the short-term interest rate it controls will come on Wednesday. The market expectation is that it will hold steady.

In other dealings early Monday, benchmark U.S. crude rose 2 cents to $61.09 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 3 cents to $65.10 a barrel.

Gold gained 2% to nearly $5,100 an ounce, while silver jumped 6.4% to about $108 per ounce. The value of precious metals has surged in recent months as investors sought relatively safe places to invest.

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Specialist Douglas Johnson works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Defending champion Madison Keys has been knocked out of the Australian Open by fellow American, and podcast pal, Jessica Pegula.

Pegula, seeded sixth, defeated the ninth-seeded Keys 6-3, 6-4 on Monday at Rod Laver Arena to reach the quarterfinals for the fourth time in Australia.

Pegula raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set and took it in 32 minutes. She then broke to open the second set and again surged to a 4-1 lead as Keys struggled on serve. The match ended when Keys hit a forehand into the net.

“I’ve been playing really well, seeing the ball, hitting the ball really well this whole tournament, and I wanted to stay true to that,” said 31-year-old Pegula. “Then just lean into a couple things that I felt like she would do, and I felt like I came out doing it pretty well

“When I had the lead I tried to stick with that as much as I could.

“Even when she got a little rhythm back, I just really tried to focus on what I needed to do and patterns to look out for.”

Pegula and Keys had played three times previously, and Keys had won the last two. But on Monday it was Pegula that had the upper hand almost throughout on the back of her serve accuracy and few unforced errors.

The 2025 champion lamented not taking advantage in the second set when she had chances. But Pegula would not let her.

“I think she (Pegula) did a really good job from the start of just being the one that was dictating and in charge,” Keys said. “I felt like if I didn’t hit a really good ball immediately, she was in charge of the points.

“I was kind of struggling to kind of get that dominance back,” Keys added. “Then I feel like especially in the second set I felt like I had some opportunities to break that I wasn’t super happy with, just kind of quick errors and not playing the best points in big moments.”

Pegula's best performance in a major was making the U.S. Open final in 2024, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka. She will face either No.4-seeded Amanda Anisimova or Wang Xinyu next.

In a later match Monday at Rod Laver Arena, fifth-seeded man Lorenzo Musetti faced American Taylor Fritz, who is seeded No. 9.

In night matches, second-ranked Iga Świątek was up against Australian Maddison Inglis, and the eighth-seeded man Ben Shelton faced Casper Ruud.

Novak Djokovic was due to be the feature night match at Rod Laver Arena on Monday but has had a walkover into the quarterfinals after his opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew from their scheduled fourth-round match with an abdominal injury.

Jessica Pegula, left, of the U.S., is congratulated by her compatriot Madison Keys after winning their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Madison Keys of the U.S. plays a backhand return to her compatriot Jessica Pegula during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Jessica Pegula of the U.S. plays a backhand return to her compatriot Madison Keys during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Madison Keys of the U.S. reacts during her fourth round match against her compatriot Jessica Pegula at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Jessica Pegula of the U.S. plays a backhand return to her compatriot Madison Keys during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)