* Asian shares pull back from nearly 3-month high
* Dollar slips as data underlines patchy U.S. recovery
* Kiwi falls, hurt by RBNZ statement on future hikes
(Repeats to more subscribers)
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, July 29 (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged down from a
three-month high and the dollar eased towards three-month lows
on Thursday, hit by soft U.S. data that underlined the patchy
nature of the U.S. economic recovery.
Mixed data on June durable goods orders and a downbeat
Federal Reserve take on the economy became the latest in a
string of lacklustre indicators to suggest the momentum of the
U.S. economic recovery is slowing, broadly dampening investor
sentiment.
Traders said a move back into riskier assets had cooled a
bit after the Fed's Beige Book of anecdotal reports pointed to
a less-than-booming recovery, with sluggish housing markets and
sales of costly items such as new cars weakening.
[]
"Profit-taking is coming to the fore because coupled with
worries about the uncertain outlook for the U.S. and European
economies, U.S. stocks seem to be peaking," said Yutaka Miura,
a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.
Asian shares fell after hitting their highest level since
May 5 on Wednesday, buoyed by robust corporate earnings in the
U.S. and Europe that helped ease, albeit temporarily, concerns
that the global economy may stall in the second half.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares ex-Japan
<MIAPJ0000PUS> edged down 0.2 percent.
Information technology shares were the biggest losers
across the region, a reflection of renewed concern over U.S.
demand, while healthcare stocks edged higher as investors
turned defensive, seeking out shares seen as resilient in the
face of economic volatility overseas.
Japan's Nikkei average <> lost 0.5 percent to 9,700.42
as investors took profits after a rally that lifted the
benchmark to a two-week closing high on Wednesday [].
Panasonic Corp <6752.T> tumbled over 5 percent after
sources told Reuters it plans to acquire the shares it does not
already own in Sanyo Electric Co <6764.T> and Panasonic
Electric Works Co Ltd <6991.T>. Sanyo shares soared more than
26 percent. []
A slew of companies, including Panasonic, Sony Corp
<6758.T> and Nissan Motor Co <7201.T>, all report earnings
later in the day as Japan's earnings season peaks.
Australian shares <> fell 0.4 percent, dragged down by
banks as confidence took a hit from the downbeat Beige Book,
while shares in Hong Kong slipped 0.2 percent, shrugging off
modest gains in Shanghai.
Attention is now turning to U.S. jobless claims later in
the day and U.S. second quarter GDP on Friday.
A Reuters poll showed annual U.S. growth in the quarter was
expected to slow to 2.5 percent from 2.7 percent in the first
quarter amid a cooling in consumer demand, but a recent flurry
of weak data suggest it lost some momentum heading into summer.
[]
KIWI STRUGGLES, DOLLAR SOFT
The New Zealand dollar <NZD=D4> fell sharply after the
Reserve Bank of Zealand signalled the pace of further interest
rate hikes would be less than earlier thought, though it later
staged a mild recovery. []
The central bank lifted interest rates by a quarter point
on Thursday, as widely expected, but said further hikes would
probably be more gradual because of a deteriorating outlook for
the country's main trading partners and subdued domestic
demand.
The kiwi fell to as low as $0.7207, from $0.7280 before the
announcement, before staging a mild recovery.
"The neutral statement and revised market expectations for
future rate decisions will help in taking upside pressure off
the kiwi," said Josh Williamson, an analyst at Citi.
The dollar index <.DXY> against a basket of major
currencies was down 0.1 percent at 82.11 after the weak U.S.
data, with near-term support at 81.44, the 50 percent
retracement of the index's move from a low of 74.17 in December
2009 to a high of 88.71 on June 7.
The greenback also lost ground against the yen <JPY=>,
edging down 0.2 percent to 87.28 yen.
The euro <EUR=> consolidated below $1.30, but held near
11-week highs against the dollar as concerns shifted from
Europe's debt crisis to the uneven U.S. economy.
But gold rebounded, although gains could be limited after
holdings in the world's largest gold-backed ETF
(exchange-traded fund) SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P> dropped to their
weakest since June.
Spot gold <XAU=> rose to $1,165.25 an ounce by 0206 GMT
after falling as low as $1,156.90 on Wednesday, its weakest
since late April.
U.S. crude futures were littled changed at around $77 a
barrel after falling for a second session overnight on a
suprise build in U.S. crude oil inventories. []
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi and Anirban Nag)
