* Asia stocks fall, but Nikkei climbs to 6-wk high
* Dollar and yen dip as some risk-taking improves
* Higher-yielding currencies and oil gain
* JGB 10-yr yield near 3-1/2-yr low, BOJ to boost
purchases
(Updates with European outlook, latest Asian prices)
By Rafael Nam
HONG KONG, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell and the
dollar retreated on Monday as investors locked in profits from
recent gains after weak exports data from Japan and worsening
outlooks at blue chips such as Toyota add to the economic
gloom.
European shares were also seen lower on Monday though a
timid recovery in commodity prices could lend support to
recently routed mining and oil shares. []
The weakening dollar and the prospect of production cuts
from OPEC sparked a recovery in oil prices, after prices on
Friday had slumped more than 6 percent due to fears of a deep
economic slowdown.
Central banks are responding aggressively to the downturn,
with interest rates in both the United States and Japan now at
near zero, helping support some regional bonds on Monday.
"There is fair bit of unwinding for the Christmas period by
the looks of it. A lot of people are away on holidays," said
Lucinda Chan, a division director with Macquarie Equities.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> fell 1.8 percent, reversing a rebound that had
seen the index climb 16 percent over the prior two weeks.
Regional stock markets have still suffered an ugly year
with losses in the MSCI index of more than 50 percent.
Earlier advances on Monday following the U.S. government's
$17.4 billion of rescue loans for ailing auto makers last week
evaporated as investors locked in gains as they returned their
focus towards a weak global economy.
Data on Monday showed Japan's exports plunged at a record
annual pace in November. Most tellingly for the region,
shipments to Asia dropped the most since 1986, in a clear sign
that an economic slump is stretching far and wide.
[]
Corporate profits are under threat, and companies are
responding with layoffs and spending cuts.
Japanese auto maker Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> forecast an
annual group operating loss of 150 billion yen, its first such
loss ever, according to a local newspaper. []
Elsewhere, global miner Rio Tinto <RIO.AX> <RIO.L>
suspended operations at an Australian pig-iron plant for at
least three months as it seeks to weather the economic
downturn. []
Regional shares largely fell, led by a 3.4 percent loss in
Taiwan's main index <> after the chairman of electronics
gear maker Hong Hai <2317.TW> said the company would cut its
workforce given the economic slowdown had been more severe than
expected.
Shares in Australia <>, Hong Kong <>, Singapore
<.FTSTI> and Shanghai <> fell more than 1 percent each.
South Korea <> edged down just 0.1 percent.
An exception was Japan's Nikkei average <>, which
despite the weak exports data gained 1.6 percent to its highest
close in more than a month after Tokyo on Saturday joined
governments worldwide in approving new spending packages to
fight off a recession. []
ASSETS
Still, signs of a willingness to add on risk are emerging
as a brutal 2008 comes to a close, though the actions could
easily reverse given prevailing caution, analysts have warned.
Portfolio managers have kept shifting funds into Asian
equity markets in a sign of more tolerance for risk. Data from
EPFR Global showed Asia ex-Japan funds received a fifth
straight week of inflows in the week ending last Wednesday.
In Japan, a poll of portfolio managers showed investors had
slightly increased their equity holdings in November, while
paring their levels of cash and bonds. []
On Monday the dollar and the yen fell against the euro as
currencies offering higher-yields benefit. Despite the U.S. and
Japanese rate cuts, European policymakers are seen more
reluctant to cut rates from 2.5 percent.
The euro rose 0.7 percent from late New York trade on
Friday to $1.4013 <EUR=>. That marks a partial reversal from
Friday, when the dollar posted its biggest daily gain against
the euro in almost two months after the U.S. auto bailout.
The euro also climbed against the Japanese yen, by 1.3
percent to 125.84 yen <EURJPY=>.
Oil prices <CLc1> climbed 64 cents to $43.00 a barrel,
buoyed by a weaker dollar and as top OPEC producers talked
tough about enforcing compliance to their announced record
output cut.
Government debt benefitted as central banks worldwide are
grappling with the severe downturn in the global economy by
cutting interest rates.
March Japanese government bond futures climbed 0.25 point
to 139.93 <2JGBv1> after touching 140.14, the highest since
mid-September.
Japan's benchmark 10-year yield <JP10YTN=JBTC> dipped 1
basis point to 1.215 percent, after touching 1.200 percent, the
lowest since July 2005.
Japanese government bonds benefitted as well after the BOJ
upped the amount of debt it would purchase each month as part
of its monetary easing measures.
(Additional reporting by Kim Yeon-hee in SEOUL and Satomi
Noguchi in TOKYO; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
