* Yen up as investors cut bets on riskier assets
* Caution grows before U.S. earnings, long weekend
* Fed's Fisher says euro faces more problems than dollar
By Kaori Kaneko
TOKYO, April 8 (Reuters) - The yen rose broadly on Wednesday as falls in share prices and worries about upcoming earnings results for big U.S. companies prompted investors to sell higher-yielding currencies.
The yen recovered from multimonth lows against major currencies struck earlier this week when optimism that stimulus efforts would eventually filter down to the global economy encouraged investors to return to riskier assets.
Asian stocks slid for a second day on Wednesday with investors fleeing to the sidelines to await companies' business outlooks as what is expected to be a grim results season begins.
The dollar was also higher on its perceived safety, although lower against the yen, as caution grew after aluminium producer Alcoa Inc kicked off the U.S. reporting season with a quarterly loss and a source said General Motors Corp was in intense preparations for bankruptcy.
The U.S. and Japanese currencies, seen as safer bets than others in times of market stress, will likely keep drawing demand as investors stay away from higher-yielding currencies such as the Aussie, dealers said.
"The currency market moved back to risk aversion after optimism had gone a bit too far," said Yoshihisa Kanzaki, a currency dealer at Shinkin Central Bank.
"But the market overall is expected to be driven by investor position adjustments and profit-taking for the rest of this week ahead of a long weekend for many overseas players and before U.S. financial sector earnings," he said.
The dollar slipped 0.6 percent to 99.85 yen, off Monday's high of 101.45 yen, the highest since late October.
The euro dropped 1.3 percent to 131.60 yen, retreating further from a six-month high of 137.42 yen touched on Monday on trading platform EBS.
The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's performance against six major currencies, gained 0.4 percent to 85.610.
The euro fell 0.6 percent to $1.3175.
Data showing Japan's current account surplus halved in February from a year earlier had little impact on the market, but some traders used the figures an excuse to buy back the yen as the surplus shrank slightly less than expected, analysts said.
"The data shows Japan's economy continues to deteriorate. But for the yen, returning to a surplus is a positive, because foreign investors saw last month's deficit as a reason to sell the yen," said Toru Umemoto, chief foreign exchange strategist at Barclays Capital in Japan.
EURO UNDER DOWNWARD PRESSURE
The European single currency came under selling pressure after data showed the euro zone economy recorded its deepest-ever quarterly fall in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The euro extended its falls against the yen and the dollar after Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher said the euro was facing even more problems than the U.S. currency.
Traders said Ireland's second emergency budget in six months was also weighing on the euro, highlighting strains in the euro zone.
Ireland unveiled on Tuesday an emergency budget including harsh spending cuts and tax hikes, and it is expected to face a significant increase in gross national debt to finance a new agency to buy soured bank loans.
Higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar fell.
The Aussie dropped 0.8 percent to $0.7059 and declined 1.4 percent to 70.43 yen.
The kiwi was down 0.6 percent at $0.5720 and dropped 1.3 percent to 57.11 yen. (Additional reporting by Satomi Noguchi; Editing by Chris Gallagher)