USD/JPY attempting a move back towards 117.00 handle

The USD/JPY pair managed to reverse early Asian session bearish slide to 116.00 neighborhood and was now seen attempting a move back to 117.00 handle. 

Currently trading around 116.70-75 band, the pair failed to build on the recovery momentum and ran through some offers at session peak level near 116.90 region. A mildly positive sentiment around equity markets, poiting to investors' appetite for riskier assets, is seen driving flows away from traditional safe-haven currency, Yen. 

Moreover, the US Dollar Index also seems to have gained some traction, following a drop to 2-week low in wake of a knee-jerk spike in the EUR/USD major, and collaborated to the pair's bounce from the lowest level since Dec. 14. The recovery, however, lacked momentum as declining US treasury bond yields was seen undermining the greenback's appeal. 

Nevertheless, the pair seems all set for a second consecutive week of declines but remain closer to over 10-month high touched during mid-Dec. 

Today's release of Chicago PMI print from the US, later during NA session, is unlikely to provide any impetus but would be looked upon for short-term trading opportunities.

Technical levels to watch

On the upside, 117.00 handle remains immediate resistance, which if cleard could trigger a short-covering bounce towards 117.50 horizontal resistance above which the pair is likely to aim towards reclaiming 118.00 round figure mark. On the downside, weakness back below 116.50 support might continue to find support near 116.00 handle and a follow through selling pressure below the said handle has the potential to drag the pair further towards its next support near 115.45-40 region.