* Copper prices surge after major quake hits Chile
* Signs of European help for Greece underpin equity gains
* China manufacturing data shows growth moderating
* Sterling slumps to 9-mth low on political uncertainty
By Umesh Desai
HONG KONG, March 1 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Monday,
boosted by mining stocks after a massive earthquake in Chile,
the world's top copper producer, and on signs that Greece's
debt crisis could be easing.
European shares <> also looked set to open higher
after a European lawmaker said that Germany, France and the
Netherlands plan to buy Greek bonds to give Athens more
breathing room. U.S. stock futures rose 0.7 percent.
[]
The euro <EUR=> eased slightly after rising 0.4 percent on
Friday amid talk that euro zone policy markers were close to
agreeing a deal to bail out Greece.
But the sterling fell to a nine-month low against the
dollar, hurt by political uncertainty after an opinion poll
showed chances of an inconclusive result in a British election
due in months.
Copper prices jumped to their highest levels in five weeks
after an 8.8-magnitude quake on Saturday forced the shutdown of
up to a fifth of Chile's copper mine capacity. []
Shanghai benchmark third month copper <SCFc3> leapt by its
5 percent daily limit in early trade and was still up 4 percent
by afternoon, pushing up Asian resource shares. The 3-month
copper contract on the London Metal Exchange <CMCU3> struck an
early high of $7,600 a tonne before easing to $7,450.
Asian equity markets were also buoyed by reports which
showed factory activity in the region's main economies
continued to expand last month, with India and South Korea
growing at their fastest pace in around two years, although
China's growth rate showed some signs of moderating.
[]
The MSCI index of Asian shares excluding Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 1.2 percent as risk appetite improved with
mining stocks, consumer staples and financials accounting for
most of the gains. In Hong Kong, Jiangxi Copper <0358.HK>
surged more than 6 percent.
The jump in copper prices also stoked Japan's Nikkei
average <>, which climbed 0.5 percent as metal shares such
as Sumitomo Metal Mining Co <5713.T> rallied 1.1 percent.
"Equity markets are taking it (the Chinese data) fairly
constructively to mean that mainland policymakers' attempts to
cool some the excess exhuberance in domestic economy are
starting to have an effect," said Macquarie Securoities
strategist Michael Kurtz .
"The markets are still focused on risk right now so it will
be critical to see a resolution of some of the fiscal concerns
in Europe," he added.
Greece may soon announce new steps to cut its budget
deficit, a government minister said on Sunday. []
"There may be a view in the market that resources will be
bought after Chile's quake, but given worries about economic
growth in Europe, gains in the price of resources will likely
be limited," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, manager at SMBC Friend
Securities.
Australia's benchmark stocks index the S&P/ASX 200 <>
index rose 1.1 percent, with mining shares underpinning the
gains, but trade was thin ahead of a Reserve Bank of Australia
interest rate decision on Tuesday.
Markets in Australia are pricing in a 60 percent chance
<CSRBA=CSAU> of a 25-basis-point rate rise to 4.0 percent. But
after last month's surprise decision when the central bank left
rates unchanged, investors are wary of betting on its next
move.
Growth-linked currencies such as the Australian dollar
<AUD=D4> and the New Zealand dollar <NZD=> both weakened after
the China manufacturing data.
The Australia dollar dropped to a low of $0.8971, from a
high of $0.9009. China is the biggest buyer of Australia's
commodity exports.
CURRENCIES
Sterling also fell to a one-year low against the yen on
growing political uncertainty in the UK.
Traders said fears of a possible hung parliament after the
elections could undermine the country's already fragile
economic recovery, prompting many to add to short positions in
the pound <GBP=D4>.
Sterling dropped to as low as $1.5096, down about 0.9
percent and the lowest since mid-May 2009.
The yen, pared some of its gains, easing to 89.03 per
dollar from 88.86 late on Friday in New York.
The U.S. dollar index rose 0.2 percent against a basket of
major currencies <.DXY> after data on Friday showed U.S. gross
domestic product expanded at a 5.9 percent annual rate in the
fourth quarter, faster than the 5.7 percent pace estimated
earlier.
Oil <CLc1> edged up to nearly $80 a barrel, extending last
month's stellar gains of over 9 percent, amid threats by Iran
that it could cut off energy supplies to Europe over its
opposition to Tehran's contentious nuclear programme.
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi in TOKYO)
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
