By Ian Chua and Taiga Uranaka
SYDNEY/TOKYO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose slightly
on Tuesday after China's closely-watched inflation data failed
to surprise markets, while the euro regained some ground after
hitting a three-week low the previous day.
Consumer price figures for China that came in lower than had
earlier been expected prompted London copper to rally to a
record high, as the data soothed concerns that Beijing might
adopt a more aggressive monetary tightening regime.
Chinese consumer price inflation accelerated to
4.9 percent in the year to January. It matched the
widespread figure that swirled through markets on Monday, but
was below the earlier consensus forecast of 5.3
percent.
Analysts remained wary about a build-up in China's price
pressures, saying Beijing could further tighten monetary policy,
given continued rises in food prices.
"The data probably slightly eased expectations of immediate
tightening, although in the overall scheme of things, this
doesn't change the fact that China is still in a tightening
phase," said Etsuko Yamashita, chief economist at SMBC.
After the Chinese data was released, three-month copper on
the London Metal Exchange rose $30 to $10,190 a tonne by
0233 GMT.
The Shanghai stock market was up 0.4 percent,
compared with a rise of 0.38 percent before the data came out.
Japanese stocks hit a new nine-month high in early
trading on growing investor confidence boosted by recent solid
corporate earnings, but remained in a narrow range with no clear
direction.
MSCI's Asia Pacific index excluding Japan ,
which snapped five straight sessions of losses on Monday, was up
0.18 percent as of 0258 GMT, while South Korea's KOSPI
was up 0.4 percent and Hong Kong stocks dipped 0.5
percent.
In the currency market, uncertainty remained over concrete
solutions to Europe's fiscal problems, keeping the euro
vulnerable, though it edged up 0.2 percent to around $1.3515
, after falling as low as $1.3426 overnight.
On Monday, euro zone finance ministers agreed that a
permanent rescue mechanism, called the European Stability
Mechanism (ESM), to be set up from 2013, would total 500 billion
euros.
Traders are also focusing on U.S. retail sales data for
clues on the dollar's near-term outlook. The figures are
expected to show a 0.6 percent rise in January from the previous
month.
"The greenback may regain its footing over the next 24 hours
of trading as the economic docket is expected to reinforce an
improved outlook for future growth," said David Song, currency
analyst at DailyFX.
The dollar held steady near 83.30 yen , while Aussie
rose to the day's high of $1.0056 after China's CPI
data.
U.S. crude futures pared some losses in early Asian trade,
buoyed by Chinese demand and unrest in the Middle East, which
could trigger supply disruptions of crude oil.
(Writing by Yoko Nishikawa; Additional reporting by Hideyuki
Sano in Tokyo and; Nick Trevethan in Singapore; Editing by
Daniel Magnowski)
