The yen hit a six-month high against the dollar on Monday, gaining for a sixth consecutive session against the greenback as stock markets tumbled and pushed investors to the perceived safety of the Japanese currency. Wall Street closed lower on Friday, and both Asian and European stock markets fell on Monday as the threat of new lockdowns amid rising cases of the COVID-19 disease made investors anxious about the global recovery. In early deals in London, the yen hit 104.065 against the dollar, gaining as much as half a per cent. That was its highest level since March 12. Marshall Gittler, head of research at BDSwiss, said the yen’s rise was part of a typical “risk-off” move in FX markets except for the Swiss franc, which turned weaker.