TOKYO, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - The yen fell back in Asian trade Thursday from recent highs against the dollar and the euro as ailing stock markets showed signs of stabilising, dealers said.

The dollar rose to 100.03 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, up from 99.42 yen in New York late Wednesday, when it hit a six-month low. The euro climbed to 137.33 yen from 135.85 but slipped to 1.3653 dollars from 1.3663.

Speculators reduced their bets on a stronger yen after central banks in the United States, Europe, Canada, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong cut interest rates to try to shore up fragile markets.

'People have apparently taken (the coordinated monetary easing) positively, and the sense of risk aversion eased,' Satoshi Okagawa, head of the forex spot trading group at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, told Dow Jones Newswires.

The Japanese currency has been the main winner amid the recent financial turmoil as speculators exit risky positions funded with cheap Japanese credit.

Traders said it was unclear whether the yen would extend its retreat because no one knows whether stock markets can avoid further heavy losses.

'It's too early to say whether the unprecedented and bold policy response to the financial crisis will unfreeze credit markets,' NAB Capital analyst John Kyriakopoulos wrote in a note to clients.

'Concerns over a global recession are unlikely to wane, although the global coordinated interest rate cut might just reduce the chance of a deep global recession,' he said.

Traders were looking ahead to Friday's meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven (G7) major economies -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

But dealers were sceptical about whether the rich nations club will announce any major new initiatives that could ease the crisis.

'There are no high expectations for the upcoming G7 meeting,' said Kenichi Yumoto, vice president of forex at Societe Generale.

Against Asian currencies, the dollar rose to 1,395.10 South Korean won from 1,386.70 on Wednesday, and to 9,623 Indonesian rupiah from 9,602.

But it fell to 32.44 Taiwan dollars from 32.45, to 47.53 Philippine pesos from 47.55, to 34.42 Thai baht from 34.56 and to 1.4702 Singapore dollars from 1.4708.