* Dollar up 0.5 percent at 94.92 yen, resistance Y95.50
* Rise in equities, last week's upbeat data buoy cross/yen
* June euro zone new orders seen up 1.5 percent m/m
By Tamawa Desai
LONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The yen slid versus both dollar and euro on Monday as gains in equities boosted risk sentiment, steering investors towards higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar.
The market refocused on risk-taking in the wake of stronger-than-expected U.S. existing home sales data last Friday and on upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
The low-yielding yen tends to fall against higher-yielding currencies when equities rise or economic data strengthen hopes for a recovery in the global economy.
Nonetheless, central bankers at a conference in Jackson Hole over the weekend warned against a too early exit from super-easy monetary policies.
"The message is that rates would remain low and liquidity would remain ample, so swings in risk appetite remain a major factor for major currency pairs," said Michael Klawitter, currency strategist at Commerzbank.
At 0738 GMT, the dollar rose 0.5 percent from late U.S. trading on Friday to 94.92 yen, near the session high and pulling away from a one-month low of 93.42 yen hit on trading platform EBS on Friday.
The euro was up 0.3 percent at 135.72 yen.
The euro pared some early losses against the dollar. It was last down 0.1 percent at $1.4300.
Euro zone industrial new orders June, due out at 0900 GMT, are expected to have risen 1.5 percent from the previous month.
Traders are keen to see how the euro zone economy is faring especially after higher-than-expected purchasing managers' index readings last week. Germany's Ifo survey will be key this week, analysts said.
U.S. data will also be in focus. The Conference Board will release its August consumer confidence index on Tuesday and Reuters/University of Michigan will report on its late August snapshot on consumer sentiment on Friday.
U.S. new home sales, durable goods orders and revised second-quarter gross domestic product are due out this week.
Signs of some stabilisation in Chinese equities were another supportive factor for higher-yielding currencies against the yen, analysts said.
"Risk trades continue to be favoured after overcoming last week's setbacks," said analysts at Calyon.
Shanghai Composite Index was last up 1.1 percent.
But the currency market's focus on Chinese shares may soon start to fade, given that major stock markets have held firm despite the sharp pullback in Chinese equities over the past few weeks.
The Australian dollar rose 0.5 percent to 79.52 yen and the New Zealand dollar edged up 0.2 percent to 64.79 yen.
The Aussie also rose 0.4 percent against the U.S. dollar to stand at $0.8379. (Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in Tokyo, editing by Mike Peacock)