* Yen stays weak, stock mkt bounce helps riskier currencies
* Some yen selling on view Finmin Kan to be next Japan PM
* Euro manages to trade above $1.22, but sentiment bearish
By Kaori Kaneko
TOKYO, June 3 (Reuters) - The yen lost ground for a second day on Thursday, as a strong rebound in stock markets lent support to higher-yielding currencies and even to the floundering euro.
Non-Japanese investors were particularly active in trimming short positions in yen crosses before U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday, which is expected to show a fifth straight month of gains in May, market players said.
"Investors covered short-positions in yen crosses taking their cue from a rally in the Nikkei and a moderate rise in U.S. stock futures," said Kazuyuki Takami, senior manager for forex exchange trading at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
"Market sentiment is not so bad," he said, adding that a good reading for U.S. jobs data would help to counter the long run of negative news out of Europe.
The dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 92.26 yen from late in New York on Wednesday when it gained 1.2 percent to hit a two-week high of 92.36 yen. Near term resistance is seen at 92.97 yen, a high hit on May 18.
The dollar found support from upbeat U.S. data, including numbers released on Wednesday which showed pending sales of previously owned homes topping expectations.
But gains in the greenback during Asia trade were limited as Japanese exporters were selling the currency above 92.00 yen, traders said.
There was speculation in the market that Japan's next prime minister would take a tougher stance in fighting the yen's strength, with investors taking this as an excuse to trim yen long positions..
Finance Minister Naoto Kan is tipped to succeed unpopular Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama who said on Wednesday he was resigning.
Kan surprised markets earlier this year by saying he wanted the yen to weaken more and that most businesses favoured a dollar/yen rate around 95 yen. But since then he has mostly toed the ministry line that stable currencies are desirable and markets should set foreign exchange levels.
Against the Japanese currency, the Australian dollar rose 0.5 percent to 78.08 yen after touching the day's high above 78.20 yen, breaking the 38.2 percent retracement of April's high above 88.00 and May's low of around 71.90 yen.
The euro rose 0.4 percent to 113.36 yen, having jumped more than 1 percent on Wednesday. The near term resistance for the pair is seen around last week's high at 113.67 yen.
Japanese investors continued to pick up overseas bonds in a bid for higher yields elsewhere as domestic bond yields remain very low, buying a net 1.2 trillion yen ($29 billion) of overseas bonds last week, the most since September.
Japan's Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance told Reuters on Wednesday it plans to boost its overseas debt holdings including unhedged foreign bonds by 75 billion in the year to next March as it seeks better investment returns.
Analysts expect U.S. payrolls figures on Friday to show 513,000 jobs were added to the economy in May, which could give the greenback a boost.
That would bolster expectations that the Federal Reserve will be first to raise rates ahead of the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan.
The euro climbed 0.3 percent to $1.2285, having bounced from a four-year low of $1.2110 on Tuesday.
Despite the bounce overall sentiment towards the single currency remains bearish. One-month 25 delta risk reversals, a barometer for short-term fear among speculators and hedge funds, are still showing an extreme bias for puts, sitting at 2.55/3.05.
The euro remains sensitive to any signs the euro zone sovereign debt crisis might spread to the banking system.
The Australian dollar gained 0.6 percent to $0.8469.
Traders said better appetite for risk was helping the Aussie and the Canadian dollar. (Additional reporting by Anirban Nag in Sydney, Rika Otsuka in Tokyo and Reuters FX analyst Rick Lloyd; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)