* Asian stocks track Wall Street but lack momentum
* Euro hovers near $1.21 after rally, faces resistance
* Aussie trims gains as China data give no surprises
* Gold rebounds; oil steady near four-week highs
By Kevin Yao
SINGAPORE, June 11 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose for a
fourth day on Friday on optimism that the world economic
recovery was on track despite Europe's debt woes, while the
euro was steady after a rally the previous day.
European equities were set to inch higher, with financial
spreadbetters expecting Britain's FTSE 100 <> to open 6-8
points higher, Germany's DAX <> to open 1-6 points
higher, and France's CAC-40 <> to open 6-17 points higher.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific ex-Japan stocks
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose nearly 1.6 percent, led by energy and
technology plays.
Asian stocks have gained 3.7 percent in the past four days,
but are still down nearly 8.7 percent so far this year.
There was little impact from a spate of fresh Chinese data.
The data showed China's inflation accelerated to a 19-month
high in May while industrial output and fixed-asset investment
growth moderated, sending mixed signals about the temperature
of the world's third-largest economy. []
Japan's Nikkei average climbed nearly 2 percent, helped by
a halt in the yen's advance against the euro <EURJPY=R> and
signs of health in the euro debt market.
Spain sold 3.9 billion euros of a 3-year benchmark bond
seeing strong demand, a positive sign for investors worried
about appetite for debt from struggling European nations. The
euro rose 1.2 percent against the U.S. dollar, trading above
$1.21. [].
Investors also breathed a sigh of relief after European
Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said three-month
emergency loans to banks would continue until September and
when Germany's high court rejected efforts to block German
guarantees for euro zone financial aid. []
[]
"Funds have started to lean towards risk-taking after
all-out risk-reduction behaviour seen in mid- to late May, and
domestic investors are following suit," said Tsuyoshi Segawa,
an equity strategist at Mizuho Securities.
U.S. STOCKS RALLY
U.S. stocks rallied nearly 3 percent on Thursday, a day
after a late-day sell-off that had reversed strong gains in
what has been a volatile month on Wall Street. That has
prompted questions over whether expectations of an economic
recovery have been overly optimistic.
Fears over the global economy eased after China on Thursday
confirmed exports jumped nearly 50 percent in May from a year
ago, fanning investors' optimism that the global economy is on
the recovery path despite the European debt crisis.
Investors have dumped riskier assets, including global
stocks and high-yielding currencies, in recent weeks.
Investors slashed their equity holdings and poured money
into U.S. and emerging market bonds and commodities last week
on lingering fears that global growth will be hit by Europe's
debt problems, EPFR Global said on Friday. []
Equity funds saw outflows of $2.61 billion in the week to
June 9, while bond funds took in $3.8 billion in fresh money,
the research firm said in a report.
The euro, meanwhile, hovered near $1.21 <EUR=>, a day after
rallying about 1.3 percent due to the positive news from Spain
and China.
The euro faced stiff resistance in the $1.2135-55 area.
The European single currency has shed 1.5 percent this
month and nearly 16 percent this year, driven ever lower by
fiscal concerns in the euro zone.
Against the yen, the euro retreated below 111.00 yen
<EURJPY=R> after pushing back above that level for the first
time in a week.
Meanwhile, investors took a lack of surprises in the
Chinese data to book gains in the Australian dollar <AUD=D4>,
which eased to $0.8444 but was still well above a low of
$0.8082 seen at the start of the week.
Spot gold <XAU=> rebounded slightly to $1,220 an ounce on
short covering after falling around 1 percent in the previous
session as the Wall Street rally curbed safe-haven demand.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> stood steady after closing at a
four-week high above $75 a barrel a day earlier on the back of
a Wall Street rally and a rosier oil demand forecast by the
International Energy Agency.
(Editing by Ron Popeski)
