* Dollar nears 15-yr low vs yen on gloomier Fed economy
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* Nikkei sheds over 2 pct as firmer yen hurts exporters
* Technology plays lead Asia stocks lower
* Oil falls on demand concerns; gold up
By Kevin Yao
SINGAPORE, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The dollar edged towards a
15-year low against the yen on Wednesday after the Federal
Reserve moved to bolster the weakening U.S. economy, while
technology plays dragged Asian stocks lower.
The fall in regional shares was largely contained, however,
as the Fed's move to buy more U.S. government bonds had been
expected after a string of weak economic reports in recent
months raised fears it could slide back into recession.
Traders also drew some comfort from fresh data from China,
which confirmed its economic growth was moderating but showed
no signs it was in danger of a hard landing. []
The U.S. central bank said on Tuesday it would reinvest the
money from maturing mortgage bonds it holds into government
debt to counter recent signs of economic weakness. It left
interest rates near zero and renewed its pledge to keep them
low for an extended period. []
The step marked an important policy shift for the Fed,
which only a few months ago debated how to start rolling back
some of its emergency stimulus schemes put in place during the
global financial crisis.
The move, along with the Fed's more sombre assessment of
the economy, added more pressure on the ailing U.S. dollar,
which continued to weaken against the yen.
"Worries about a further strengthening in the yen against
the dollar grew after the Fed's new steps towards easing policy
and with the Bank of Japan maintaining the status quo," said
Masaru Hamasaki, a senior strategist at Toyota Asset
Management.
Japan's Nikkei average <> dropped more than 2 percent,
as yen strength undermined exporters, with shares in Honda
Motor Co <7267.T> falling 2.8 percent, Canon Inc <7751.T>
sheding 2.3 percent and Sony Corp <6758.T> falling 2.1 percent.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan fell
1.2 percent <.MIAPJ0000PUS>, dragged down by tech counters
<.MIAPJIT00PUS> on worries that corporate and consumer demand
could slow.
Korean shares fell 0.7 percent as Hynix Semiconductor
<000660.KS>, the world's No.2 memory chip producer, dropped
nearly 4.9 percent following tumbles in U.S. chipmakers on
concerns of weak PC sales growth given the faltering recovery
in the United States.
Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average <> and the
Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell but closed off their
lows after the Fed pledged to underpin the recovery. []
But tech companies pressured the Nasdaq, with chipmakers
Intel Corp <INTC.O> and Advanced Micro Devices Inc <AMD.N>
falling on analysts' downgrades, while Novell Inc <NOVL.O>
dropped a day after cutting its third-quarter revenue outlook.
[] and [].
DOLLAR FALTERS
The dollar dipped a fifth of a percent to 85.32 yen <JPY=>,
edging towards an eight-month low of 85.02 yen hit last week.
If it slips below November's low of 84.82 yen, it would mark
the currency's weakest level in 15 years.
"The dollar could fall below 85.00 yen at any moment," says
Shuichi Kanehira, head of FX spot trading at Mizuho Corporate
Bank.
The Australian dollar shed 0.8 percent against the yen to
77.44 yen <AUDJPY=R>, the euro slid 0.7 percent to 111.85 yen
<EURJPY=R>, and sterling fell 0.6 percent to 134.72 yen
<GBPJPY=R>.
The low-yielding yen is a funding currency for carry trades
and tends to rise in times of market stress.
U.S. Treasuries prices rallied, with yields on the
benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> falling to
2.7523 percent, the lowest since early March.
Elsewhere, oil <CLc1> fell 19 cents to $80.06 a barrel on
demand concerns after data showing a rise in U.S. crude imports
overshadowed a deeper-than-expected decline in crude stocks.
Spot gold <XAU=> gained 35 cents to $1,202.20 an ounce
after the Fed's move, still below a 3-week high of $1,212.61
hit last week.
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi, Masayuki Kitano and
Rika Otsuka in TOKYO; Editing by Kim Coghill)
