* Stocks decline on weak U.S. jobs data, Greece worries
* Fears of more China tightening also spur profit taking
* Euro extends modest losses on Moody's Ireland downgrade
* Gold at a record high, silver at 31-year peaks
* Inflows into emerging market funds slows - Lipper
By Saikat Chatterjee
HONG KONG, April 15 (Reuters) - Asian shares were poised for
their first weekly loss in a month on Friday as investors took
profits after a recent rally, while a pick-up in inflationary
pressures in China and elsewhere sent gold racing to yet another
record high on Friday.
The euro extended modest early losses after Moody's
downgraded Ireland's credit rating by two notches to Baa3, just
above "junk" status, citing deteriorating government finances
and weaker economic growht prospects. []
The single currency fell to as low as $1.4451, down
0.2 percent on the day and moving farther away from its 15-month
high hit earlier this week.
European shares were expected to open slightly firmer though
tech counters may come under some pressure after disappointing
results from Google , according to financial
bookmakers.[]
Google's 3.2 percent drop after the closing bell was also
expected to pressure Wall Street when U.S. markets reopen.
Stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai slipped as traders braced
for another round of policy tightening from Beijing, possibly as
early as this weekend, after fresh data showed growth and
inflation topping market projections. []
Asian central banks have resorted to various measures to
tighten policy with some like Singapore sanctioning gains in the
value of their currency to keep imported inflation.
"The weakness in markets this week is expected after the
smart comeback we have seen recently, with inflationary concerns
again coming to the forefront," said Jan Lambregts, global head
of financial markets research at Rabobank.
INFLATIONARY SCARE
An inflationary scare in the opening weeks of 2011 saw a
widespread selloff across emerging markets but markets have
staged a solid comeback since then as policymakers have taken
various steps to rein in price pressures.
Even Japan's massive earthquake and tsunmai last month has
proved to be a speed bump for investors.
While the Nikkei remains more than 7 percent below its
pre-quake levels, the MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan
has gained around 8 percent since the March 11
disaster.
On Friday, stock markets in Australia , Japan
and South Korea slipped, with shares in Seoul weakening
after hitting a fresh closing high the previous session.
Indian stocks declined 0.9 percent as software
heavyweight Infosys Technologies slumped nearly eight percent
after it missed quarterly profit estimates. []
The Nikkei ended down 0.5 percent. Japanese equity funds had
minor outflows of $8.7 million, breaking their inflow streak of
nine straight weeks, according to Thomson Reuters Lipper data.
Outside Japan, Asian stocks were down more
than half a percent and were set to fall about 1 percent on the
week after hitting a three-year high on Monday as fund inflows
slowed.
Emerging markets pulled in a net $1.2 billion in the week
ending April 13 with the iShares MSCI Emerging Market equity
fund pulling in a net $595 million, down from the prior
week's inflow of $1.6 billion. []
GOLD SHINES
As price pressures showed signs of accelerating, gold
considered as an inflation hedge, jumped to yet another record
high, nearing the $1,480 per ounce mark, dragging silver
along with it to 31-year highs.
"We see gold peaking at $1,500 an ounce. We think there
could be some more upside in gold in the short term, especially
in this environment of high inflation and rising oil prices,"
said Natalie Robertson, commodities strategist at ANZ.
Gold's rally of nearly 13 percent from the January lows has
also been fuelled by the weakening dollar.
The dollar wallowed at a 16-month trough against a basket of
currencies as the market realised that there is scant
chance of the Fed tightening for some time to come given the
focus on unemployment rather than on inflation []
Preying on the dollar's outlook has also been a rash of
growth downgrades which has also prompted investors to take
profits in U.S. stocks after recent gains.
A Reuters poll of economists showed 2011 gross domestic
product forecasts fell to 2.9 percent from 3.1 percent. For
details, see []
Other commodities shone, too.
Oil advanced slightly with Brent crude <LCOc1> holding above
the $122 a barrel line after suffering recent losses.
Grains and copper prices firmed too, with the broader
Reuters-Jefferies commodities index flirting near record
highs hit on Monday.
In the bond markets, ten-year U.S. notes crawled
in a tight band before inflation data due later in the day.
* For Reuters Global Investing Blog, click on
http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting
* For the MacroScope Blog, click on
http://blogs.reuters.com/macroscope
* For Hedge Fund Blog, click on
http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub
(Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; in TOKYO and Lewa
Pardomuan; in SINGAPORE; Editing by Kim Coghill)
