(Updates prices as of 0530 GMT)

By Stella Qiu

SYDNEY, June 21 (Reuters) - Asian shares are ending the

week with a whimper after a recent rally to 26-month highs drew

profit-taking, while the relentless strength in the U.S. dollar

pushed the Japanese yen towards the intervention zone.

Europe is set for a flat open, having bounced a day earlier

as rate cuts there gathered pace. Both EUROSTOXX 50 futures

and FTSE were little changed but S&P 500

futures rose 0.1% and Nasdaq futures gained 0.2%.

Overnight, the Swiss National Bank cut rates for a second

time while the Bank of England opened the door to an easing in

August after holding rates steady. Sterling, the Swiss franc and

the euro fell, lifting the dollar broadly.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

fell 0.6% on Friday, dragged lower by a

pull-back in technology shares, tracking a mixed session on Wall

Street overnight.

The index is set for a weekly gain of 0.9% after rising to

its highest since April 2022 on Wednesday as a recent run of

soft U.S. data reinforced bets of two rate cuts from the Federal

Reserve to come this year.

"We're seeing more and more of these central banks either

open the door or continue cutting rates and that's a really good

thing, particularly as we're starting to see some softer data

consistently come out of the U.S.," said Tony Sycamore, analyst

at IG.

"But in the short term, I think we should look for more

of these end-of-month, end-of-quarter flows. In the medium term,

I think the market will continue to back those tech and AI

winners."

Japan's Nikkei was off 0.1% and the yen

remained jittery at 158.91, levels not seen since late April

when the Japanese authorities intervened in the market to stem

the currency's fast declines.

Data showed earlier in the day that Japan's demand-led

inflation slowed in May, complicating the outlook for interest

rate hikes.

Chinese stocks fell slightly, with the Shanghai Composite

index struggling to stand above a critical level of

3,000 points. The index is 0.1% lower, having skidded 5.6% since

a recent multi-month high in late May.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 1.7%, extending

the weakness seen over the past month.

In foreign exchange markets, the euro clawed back

some lost ground and was last up 0.2% at losses at $1.0718,

while sterling had less luck and was pinned at $1.2662,

the lowest in five weeks.

The dollar also held gains against the Swiss franc at

0.8910 francs, having jumped 0.8% overnight.

In contrast, a still hawkish rate outlook for Australia's

central bank has sent the local dollar up a whopping 1.8% this

week to a 17-year high on the low-yielding yen.

Treasuries are set to end the week on the back foot.

Two-year yields are headed for a weekly rise of 6

basis points to 4.7407%, while the 10-year yield

also rose 5 bps to 4.2593%.

Oil prices consolidated on Friday after hitting seven-week

highs earlier in the week. Brent futures slipped 0.1% to

$85.59 a barrel while U.S. crude also dipped 0.1% to

$81.19 a barrel.

Gold prices edged up 0.1% to $2,362.20 per ounce.