* Asian stocks fall on EU woes
* Euro steadies just above four-year low vs dollar
* Yen dips after Japanese PM says to resign
* Gold eases, oil pressured by dollar strength
By Kevin Yao
SINGAPORE, June 2 (Reuters) - Asian stocks followed Wall
Street down on Wednesday as jitters over the euro zone's debt
crisis prompted investors to keep cutting riskier positions,
while the euro steadied after hitting a four-year low.
The yen fell broadly after Japan's Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama said he would resign, reflecting the view that the
front runner to replace him, Finance Minister Naoto Kan, is
seen as preferring a weaker yen. []
The sell baton is expected to be passed on to Europe.
Financial spreadbetters see Britain's FTSE 100 <> opening
as much as 1.6 percent lower and Germany's DAX <> falling
as much as 1.3 percent.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS>, which has underperformed world equity markets
<.MIWD00000PUS> so far this year, fell 0.9 percent.
Japan's Nikkei stock average <> fell nearly 1 percent,
surrendering some early gains.
The euro area's debt crisis has prompted investors to shed
riskier investments, including Asian stocks.
In the latest investor scare, the European Central Bank
said on Monday, a holiday in Britain and the United States,
that banks in the bloc could suffer 195 billion euros of write
downs by the end of 2011 in a second wave of losses from the
global financial crisis. []
Shanghai shares <> slipped 1.6 percent, extending
losses for the week, as banks' fundraising plans weighed on
sentiment which also dampened Hong Kong stocks. []
Bank of China, which is raising 40 billion yuan ($5.9
billion) by selling convertible bonds in Shanghai, said on
Tuesday it may consider new fundraising plans. []
Taiwan stocks <> fell just over 1.3 percent, with
iPhone maker Hon Hai Precision Industry <2317.TW> slumping 4
percent after the company said it would raise wages at its
Foxconn unit in China by 30 percent following a string of
deaths at the plant.
YEN FALLS
The dollar rose as much as 0.9 percent to 91.78 yen <JPY=>,
its highest since May 20, after news of Hatoyama's resignation.
"The market may become cautious over the possibility of
government moves to restrain yen strength because Kan has shown
his preference for a weaker yen," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief
FX strategist in Japan at Barclays Capital.
"But given no signs that business leaders have complained
to the current government about a higher yen, the chance of
Japanese currency intervention remains very low," Yamamoto
said.
The euro briefly hit $1.2263 <EUR=>, buoyed by its gain
against a weak yen.
But it later pulled back to $1.2205 after a report that ECB
board member Christian Noyer said the exchange rate of the euro
against the U.S. dollar was not unusually low. []
The euro hit a four-year low of $1.2110 on Tuesday after
the ECB's warning of a new wave of bank losses. []
Traders said euro selling pressure is likely to continue as
the market grows more confident that the U.S. economy and its
banking system are in much better shape than Europe's.
Oil <CLc1> fell 0.8 percent to $72 a barrel, continuing a
recent slide off the back of a strong dollar and Chinese and
European data that raised concerns about the prospects for the
global economy.
Spot gold <XAU=> fell to $1,223.20 an ounce, down 0.6
percent from a two-week high hit on Tuesday after the ECB's
report on bank losses.
(Editing by Neil Fullick)
