* Dlr retreats after overnight surge, Asian stocks slide
* Euro recovers losses after Pakistan dismisses coup rumour
* Gold stabilises after overnight plunge
By Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Asian stocks dipped on Friday
as investors fretted about earnings, while the euro recovered
from early losses after Pakistan dismissed rumours of a coup.
The dollar <.DXY> eased 0.2 percent against a basket of
major currencies, pulling back from an overnight rally sparked
by another credit downgrade on Greece and residual effects of
the Federal Reserve's upbeat comments on the U.S. economy this
week.
The euro <EUR=> remained under pressure on concern about
the eurozone after Greece was hit by another credit downgrade
but it found support after Pakistan dashed rumours of a coup,
which had sent it to a nine-month low against the Swiss franc
<CHF=> in early trade as investors sought a safe haven.
By late morning the euro was up 0.3 percent at $1.4380,
rebounding from a three-month low of $1.4304 on Thursday.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said there was no
coup, dousing rumours that started after a government minister
suspected of corruption was barred from leaving the country.
[]
Gold stabilised after plunging 3 percent in New York where
the dollar's rise reduced its appeal. It was quoted at
$1,106.70 an ounce, up from a New York close at $1,097.80, but
it is about 10 percent below a record high of $1,226.10 reached
on Dec. 3.
Gold's overnight slide triggered selling of resources
stocks in Asia, helping push share markets in Australia and
Japan down by 1 percent, while banking shares were hit after
international regulators proposed tough new capital protection
rules from 2012. []
In Hong Kong, global bank HSBC <0005.HK> fell 1.4 percent,
extending a 3.5 percent slide in its London shares on Thursday.
CURRENCY CONCERNS
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS>, and the Thomson Reuters index of regional
shares <.TRXFLDAXPU>, were both down 0.7 percent.
The MSCI index has rallied more than 60 percent this year
and investors are keen to lock-in gains ahead of the year-end,
analysts say.
Sentiment in Asia was dented by a weak Wall Street where
financial stocks were hurt by an influential analyst's
downgrade of the earnings outlook for Morgan Stanley <MS.N> and
Goldman Sachs <GS.N>
Citigroup <C.N> shares tumbled 7 percent on weak demand for
its stock and bond offering [] while economic
bellwether FedEx slumped 6 percent on a soft profit outlook.
Nouriel Roubini, one of the few economists to have
accurately predicted the magnitude of the global financial
crisis, warned that global markets have rallied "too much, too
soon, too fast".
However, he said an imminent correction was unlikely
because a cheap dollar would continue to encourage investors to
see higher-yielding assets for a few months. [].
Roubini sees a dollar rebound in 6-12 months.
In Australia, shares of phone company Telstra <TLS.AX> fell
4 percent after the company cut its sales revenue forecast
[].
The country's biggest brewer Foster's Group <FGL.AX>,
meanwhile, saw its shares drop 2.7 percent after warning that a
strong Australian dollar <AUD=> and weak U.S. demand would cut
profits at its wine business. []
The Aussie dollar has surged 40 percent this year and some
analysts have warned that equity investors have not
sufficiently factored in its impact on Australia companies'
foreign earnings.
"It's been pushed to the back of people's minds, but the
currency is certainly coming home to roost. It is adding to the
nervousness in our market," said Daniel Manley, a dealer at
Burrell & Co in Australia.
The oil price <CLc1> edged up 0.6 percent to $73.06 a
barrel, supported by positive U.S. factory activity data.
[]
(Additional reporting by Victoria Thieberger in MELBOURNE and
Jungyoun Park in SEOUL; editing by Kazunori Takada)
(susan.fenton@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6367; Reuters
Messaging: susan.fenton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
