(RTTNews) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars reversed their initial uptrend versus most major currencies in late Asian deals on Friday as a drop in domestic stocks propelled traders to move into safe-haven currencies. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which rose to 4,673.8 earlier in the session, is currently down in the red at 4,630, down 10.2 points or 0.2% from its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 4.8 points or 0.1% at 4,718, well off the day's high of 4,758.3. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index is currently down 12.31 points or 0.38% to 3,296. Most Asian stocks retreated from its earlier highs as traders believe that China may introduce new measures to curb inflation. Earlier, the investor sentiment has picked up after Ireland announced its agreement with the European Union to accept a bailout for its banking sector. Ireland had been reluctant to accept aid on its sovereign debt earlier in the week, insisting that it is fully funded through the first half of next year and that the terms of any rescue would be unacceptable. The Australian dollar depreciated by more than 0.6 percent to reach a 2-day low of 1.3857 against the euro around 1:00 am ET from yesterday's 3-day high of 1.3761. On the downside, the aussie may test support around the 1.3890 level. Against the yen, the Australian currency is currently quoted at 82.12, down from an 8-day high of 82.84 hit earlier in the session. The aussie-yen pair finished yesterday's deals at 82.70. Japanese all industry activity dipped 0.8% on a monthly comparison in September, following a 0.2% drop in August. The decline in September was bigger than the consensus forecast of 0.6% decrease. On a yearly basis, all industry activity growth slowed to 2.6% from 3.7% in August. The Australian dollar that advanced to a 4-day high of 0.9914 against the US dollar at the beginning of Friday's Asian session pared gains shortly and reached as low as 0.9843 before leveling off around 12:05 am ET. The aussie-buck pair is presently worth 0.9860 with 0.9820 seen as the next likely support level. In the U.S., the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's index of regional manufacturing activity jumped to 22.5 in November from 1.0 in October, with a positive reading indicator growth in the sector. The index has been expected to show a much more modest increase to a reading of 5.0. At the same time, the Labor Department said its jobless claims rose to 439,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 437,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to increase to 442,000 from the 435,000 originally reported for the previous week.

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