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* BHP Billiton bids for Canadian firm
* Nikkei up for first time this week, yen dips
* Oil down on higher inventories
By Sanjeev Miglani
SINGAPORE, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on
Wednesday and the dollar inched up against the yen as a $39
billion takeover bid in the farm sector and earnings from two
U.S. retail giants boosted confidence in the corporate outlook.
The gains were limited though and the yen, seen as a safe
haven, remained near a 15-year high against the dollar,
following mixed data from the United States, showing higher
producer prices while housing starts posted a
weaker-than-expected rise. [].
The MSCI share index for Asia excluding Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 0.41 percent following gains on Wall
Street after retailing giants Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N>, and
Home Depot Inc <HD.N> beat earnings estimates.
The launch of an unsolicited $38.6 billion take-over bid by
mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd <BHP.AX><BLT.L> for Canada's
Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc <POT.TO><POT.N> also helped
improve sentiment.
Japan's Nikkei <> average rose 0.5 percent, buoyed by
short-covering after two days of falls.
Japanese government bonds dipped as investors turned to
stocks and the benchmark 10-year yield <JP10YTN=JBTC> rose 1.5
basis points to 0.950 percent, after touching a seven-year low
of 0.920 percent the previous day.
Market players said, however, it was hard to see the
benchmark Nikkei racking up substantial gains without a
sustained weakening of the yen even though recent falls -- a 4
percent drop last week -- suggested a short-term rebound might
be overdue.
"Today we're seeing short-covering prompted by the
overnight Wall Street rise, but the main players are day
traders and they tend to dump shares fairly quickly when any
rises lose steam," said Norihiro Fujito, general manager of the
investment research and information division at Mitsubishi UFJ
Morgan Stanley Securities.
Nidec Corp <6594.OS>, a precision motor manufacturer,
jumped nearly 5 percent after the firm said it would buy the
motors business of U.S. firm Emerson Electric Co <EMR.N>.
[]
The deal marks the latest move in Nidec's aggressive
expansion through acquisitions, and comes as the rising yen
reignites a push by Japanese companies to snap up overseas
assets and secure growth outside their sluggish home market.
[]
BHP DOWN
Australia's main share index eased on Wednesday, dragged
lower by a sell-off in BHP Billiton after Canada's Potash Corp
<POT.TO> spurned its takeover offer, raising concern BHP may
come back with a hostile bid.
BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> shares fell 3.5 percent near a one
month low, as investors braced for a possible bid battle.
"It is just BHP; one big story taking out a lot of points
from the index," Ben Potter, a research analyst at IG Markets
said.
The euro dipped 0.1 percent to $1.2870 <EUR=>. The euro
rose 0.4 percent the previous day according to Reuters data,
helped by solid demand at Irish and Spanish debt auctions that
also spurred a narrowing in peripheral euro zone bond yield
spreads.
But Moody's Investors Service told Reuters in an interview
on Tuesday that it still had enough doubts about the outlook
for Spain's public finances to keep the sovereign's triple A
rating under review. []
The euro could come under pressure again if the market's
focus turns toward sovereign risks in the euro zone, said a
trader for a Japanese foreign exchange broker.
Oil prices fell on Wednesday after an industry report
signalled petroleum inventories in top consumer the United
States were headed for a record, following an unexpected sharp
increase in crude stocks last week.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies in Tokyo; Editing by
Tomasz Janowski)
