TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - The yen was higher against the dollar in midafternoon trade on the back of a rise in the local equity market and exporter interest, dealers said. However, they said the yen turned top-heavy at the 130.00 level on intervention fears after reaching 129.00. Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa has reportedly said the dollar/yen will continue to trade in the 130.00-135.00 range. "It seems like the range for the dollar/yen rate is set at the 130.00-134.00 level" after Shiokawa's comment, Aozora Bank deputy manager for the forex trading group Hiroyoshi Kinoshita said. Kinoshita also said it is possible that the dollar/yen will fall to the 128.00 level. "At the 129.00 (dollar/yen level), I expect stop-loss dollar-selling to emerge. I think that it is possible that the dollar/yen will reach the 128.00 level," he said. He added that the yen also benefitted from the fact that at the G7 meeting, the finance ministers did not make any reference to their tolerance for a falling yen. "Recently, there have been comments that they are tolerant of a falling yen. (But) since there were no comments about the falling yen at the G7 meeting, it seems like relief has spread into the market," he said. Kinoshita said additionally, the negative impact on the yen of the bomb threat to the Tokyo Stock Exchange has faded. "Just after the news, the yen reacted instantly, falling to the 130.50-60 level against the dollar. But the negative impact has now faded," Kinoshita said. "In fact, the local equity market is now rising," he added. The euro was little changed against the major currencies as investors waited for reactions in the European markets after the first round of the presidential elections in France saw the extreme right-wing candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen moving into the second round at the expense of Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. "After the opening of the forex markets in Europe, it is possible that the euro will fall sharply," Kinoshita said. However, he added that any negative impact from the French elections will be short-term. Kinoshita said the euro/dollar rate will move in the range of 0.8800-0.9000 this week.