* Equities climb but investors still cautious on risk
* Yen direction is unclear after 15-year high hit overnight
* Australia job numbers push Australia dollar to 4-mth high
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged up and the
yen slipped from a 15-year high on Thursday, after a small
rally on Wall Street driven by successful European bond
auctions gave investors an excuse to lighten up on their bets.
However, the two biggest issues on investors' minds --
European financial stability and the slowing U.S. recovery --
held bargain hunting in check and risk taking at a minimum.
Australia was the exception, where rising equities led Asia
on a solid labour market report, which also drove the
Australian dollar to a four-month high. []
Meanwhile, the yen's 11 percent rise has battered depressed
Japanese equity valuations, with stocks trading at the cheapest
relative to expected earnings since December 2008.
With uncertainty rife about how much more the yen's climb
has to run, investors were cautious about rebuilding their
Japanese stock portfolios just yet.
"Worries about Europe were soothed somewhat following a
bond auction in Portugal, and that prompted short-covering in
the market, which was hit hard by the advance in the yen versus
the dollar and the euro yesterday," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, an
equity strategist at Mizuho Securities. []
"But market players were reminded that Europe's sovereign
concerns are continuing and that's not something that will
improve right away," Segawa said.
The Nikkei share average <> was up 0.7 percent but was
still down 3.2 percent for the quarter and is the third-worst
performing Asian stock market this year.
Japanese stocks were trading at 12.9 times expected
earnings one year ahead, the lowest since December 2008, when
markets were in the midst of the financial crisis, Thomson
Reuters I/B/E/S data showed.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan was up
0.5 percent, led by early gains in the materials sector. The
index has risen 9.8 percent in the quarter so far, slightly
outperforming the all-country world index's 8.6 percent rise
<.MIWD00000PUS>.
The yen was steady with global equity markets edging
higher, with the dollar at 83.79 yen <JPY=>, nearly unchanged
on the day. The dollar hit a 15-year low on Wednesday around
83.34 yen.
The Australian dollar was a big mover on the day, rising
0.4 percent to US$0.9224 <AUD=>, the highest since May.
Australian employment in August was surprisingly strong,
lifting the stock market <> and knocking bond futures
lower <YTCc1>.
"It's good news in a sense it means household income and
spending will probably grow," Michael Blythe, chief economist
at CBA in Sydney, said of the surge in Australian employment.
"But it comes at the risk of rising inflation pressure as
well."
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi in TOKYO)
