* Yen pares broad losses as modest BOJ moves disappoint
* Nikkei, Asian stocks hold on to gains, tracking Wall St
* U.S. data eyed; key jobs numbers expected Friday
(Repeats to more subscribers)
By Vikram S.Subhedar
HONG KONG, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The yen trimmed losses and
Japanese shares gave up some of their strong early gains on
Monday after the Bank of Japan made only minor tweaks in
policy, disappointing markets which had been looking for more
aggressive action against deflation.
In an emergency meeting, Japan's central bank voted to
expand its cheap fixed-rate loan programme for banks, but
stopped short of bolder steps to stem a rise in the yen rise
that has threatened the country's already fragile economic
recovery. []
The Nikkei <> was up nearly 2 percent by early
afternoon, after earlier rising more than 3 percent. []
The strengthening Japanese currency, which hit a 15-year
high of 83.58 yen against the dollar last week, has taken its
toll on the country's exporters, pushing the Nikkei down nearly
20 percent since its peak in early April.
"If the BOJ really wanted to do something about the
strength of the yen, they should have done something about
deflationary pressures. The current policy of doing nothing
simply isn't working," said Robert Rennie, currency strategist
at Westpac in Sydney.
"So for me, the announcements so far are very
disappointing."
Asian stocks outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000US> rose 1.2 percent,
drawing strength from unexpected gains on Wall Street on Friday
after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke downplayed concerns
the slowing U.S. economy might slip back into recession. []
The dollar fell to 85.38 yen <JPY=> from around 85.88 yen
just before the BOJ announcement. The euro shed its gains and
was little changed at 108.78 yen <EURJPY=R>.
Japanese cabinet ministers are due to decide the basic
thrust of additional measures to help the slowing economy at a
meeting in later on Monday, Kyodo news agency said, but Japan's
huge public debt, now twice the size of the economy, constrains
his options.
BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa will hold a news conference
at 2:30 p.m. (0530 GMT) to explain the decision. He will also
meet with Prime Minister Naoto Kan in the afternoon, Jiji news
agency said. []
Global investors will continue to focus this week on the
U.S. economy's flagging momentum, with a slew of data from
Washington including August payroll figures expected to add to
the gloomy outlook. []
Later on Monday, the U.S. Commerce Department will release
July personal income and consumption data which is expected to
show a rise of 0.3 percent in both income and spending,
according to a Reuters survey.
Oil <CLc1> stayed near an eight-day high above $75 a
barrel, while spot gold <XAU=> was slightly lower at $1,235.35
an ounce.
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi in TOKYO; Editing by
Kim Coghill)
