* Asian shares ex-Japan up slightly but sentiment weak
* European markets open touch firmer, data awaited
* Dollar slips towards 85 yen, Nikkei down 0.4 pct
(Repeats to more subscribers)
By Sanjeev Miglani
SINGAPORE, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Japanese shares closed at
their lowest level in eight months on Tuesday and the dollar
hovered near a 15-year year low against the yen on concerns of
a global slowdown ahead of data from the United States and
Europe.
Other Asian markets were slightly firmer, as U.S. stock
futures edged up, although analysts said there was little
reason for them to rise much higher given the weak sentiment.
Major European stocks <> opened 0.3 percent higher,
tracking small gains in broader Asia. The S&P futures index
<SPc1> was up 0.2 percent pointing to modest gains on Wall
Street later in the day.
U.S. housing starts and producer prices for July will be
released later on Tuesday, while Germany releases investor
sentiment data, which is expected to fall slightly in August,
having dropped to its lowest since April 2009 in July.
"We are worried that some people are saying there is a 25
percent chance of a double-dip recession, and some people are
talking about deflation," said Peter McGuire, managing director
at CWA Global Markets in Sydney.
The MSCI share index for Asia excluding Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 0.6 percent following Wall Street's
relatively flat finish. Last week the index lost nearly 2.9
percent on growing concerns about the global recovery, its
worst performance in six weeks.
U.S. Treasury debt prices inched down, though the benchmark
yield stayed near a 17-month low. []
The Fed will make the first of its purchases of Treasuries
on Tuesday in a program announced last week that will use
funding from maturing mortgage assets to buy U.S. government
debt to shore up economic recovery.
Japan's Nikkei <> stock average fell 0.4 percent to
its lowest close in more than eight months, reflecting growing
investor worries about weak economic growth.
The index which earlier fell within sight of a 13-month low
of 9,065.94 hit last week, pared losses after a government
source told Reuters that Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Bank of
Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa will meet next week, sending
the dollar/yen slightly higher.
"There's a lot of worry about what could happen if the
Nikkei falls below 9,000. It's served as support for quite some
time but could well break if the yen continues to gain
strength," said Toshiyuki Kanayama, market analyst at Monex
Inc.
The dollar slid as low as 85.11 yen <JPY=> in Asian trade,
within sight of a 15-year low of 84.72 yen reached last week.
Traders said it is only matter of time before the greenback
drops below 85.00 yen and threatens to pass last week's
milestone due to the general mood of risk aversion.
Markets are also awaiting debt auctions by Spain and
Ireland later in the day as worries return about weaker
peripheral euro zone economies. []
Crude oil declined for a sixth day as concern grew that the
global economic recovery was withering, following disappointing
data from the United States and Japan, the world's largest and
third-largest oil consumers.
U.S. home builders' optimism hit a near 1-
