Japan's Economy Watchers survey index ticks higher in October

Japan Economy Watchers survey index, a closely watched Japanese sentiment survey increased to 49.30 in October from 44.80 in September, Japan's Cabinet Office reported on Tuesday. The survey has averaged 44.54 between 2000 and 2016.

The index which measures the current mode of businesses that directly service consumers remains below the 50 mark which is needed to indicate overall optimism. Hence despite the monthly uptick, pessimism still dominates.

Yen largely ignored the data and was more fixated on the US presidential election. Haven demand for the Yen saw the greenback down to 101.19, having peaked above 105 earlier in the Asian session. USD/JPY has since recovered most of the losses and was trading around 103.48 at around 10:00 GMT.