* New Zealand dlr hits 2-wk low, Aussie near 2-wk trough
* Investors close shorts in dollar and yen before year-end
* Asian shares track Wall St lower, capping risk appetite
By Satomi Noguchi
TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The dollar and yen kept their broad strength on Friday as investors continued to sell higher-yielding currencies and took profits from gains made in the past few months in risky assets.
The Australian dollar fell and the New Zealand dollar hit a two-week low after sharp slides the previous day as more investors cut long positions in those currencies ahead of a long weekend in Japan and the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. next week.
"The biggest reason behind the dollar's gain looks to be simply seasonal factors," said Minoru Shioiri, a senior manager of FX trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
"The dollar is probably facing demand from overseas corporates ahead of the year-end in addition to investors closing their dollar shorts," Shioiri said.
The Aussie, which had been a favourite buying target for carry trades, now looks vulnerable as Asian stock markets tracked Wall Street lower and capped investor risk appetite, traders said.
Asian shares fell with Tokyo's Nikkei share average sliding 1.3 percent, tracking U.S. stocks lower on another batch of economic data pointing to the fragility of the recovery.
"Hedge funds are cashing out their positions to prepare for year-end redemption requests from their clients. And that move is encouraging others to take profits as well," said the head of a trading desk at a big Japanese bank.
The dollar index gained 0.1 percent to 75.381, well above a 15-month low of 74.679 touched on Monday.
The euro was down 0.2 percent from late New York trade at $1.4891.
The Australian dollar fell 0.1 percent to $0.9177 after having dropped as much as 1.6 percent the previous day to a two-week low of $0.9132. It was well off a 15-month high of $0.9407 struck on Monday.
Earlier in the day, it drew a mild lift from buying by a Japanese asset manager who was purchasing the Aussie against the yen. The Aussie was down about 0.3 percent to 81.55 yen, erasing earlier brief gains.
The New Zealand dollar extended the previous day's over 2 percent fall and hit a two-week low of $0.7256. It was down 0.4 percent to $0.7280.
The dollar edged down 0.1 percent to 88.87 yen, trading softly within reach of a six-week low of 88.63 yen hit on trading platform EBS the previous day.
The Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold, as widely expected, and upgraded its assessment on the economy despite government grumbling that its forecast of a moderate economic recovery is too rosy.
Market reaction was largely subdued as the BOJ maintained its commitment to keep monetary conditions very easy in a statement, reassuring markets and the government that it was not seeking an exit from ultra-low rates any time soon.
BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa is scheduled to speak at a news conference later, with an embargo on his remarks expected to be lifted around 4:15 p.m. (0715 GMT). (Reporting by Satomi Noguchi; Editing by Joseph Radford)