(Repeats to widen distribution)
* Asia stocks fall on concerns over global economy
* ICBC may raise $6.6 billion in rights issue - source
* Euro nears 7-week high as investor shy away from dollar
* Gold, oil recover from multi-week lows
By Kevin Yao
SINGAPORE, July 7 (Reuters) - Asian stocks slipped on
Wednesday as investors worried global growth was faltering,
while the euro hovered near a 7-week high as investors shunned
long positions in the dollar.
A rebound in world stock markets on Tuesday, mainly
propelled by bargain-hunting, turned out to be short-lived as
data showed growth in the U.S. service sector was slowing, the
latest evidence that its expansion was cooling. []
Wall Street rose, snapping a five-day losing steak despite
the data, but strong buying interest disappeared by afternoon
as bearish sentiment reasserted itself. []
"Investors are not wholly confident about the global
economic outlook. Recent weaker-than-expected U.S. data is
weighing on sentiment," said Y.S. Rhoo, a market analyst at
Hyundai Securities in South Korea.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> shed almost 0.9 percent, resuming its decline
after the previous day's rally, which had been largely spurred
by gains in the beaten-down Shanghai market and an upbeat
assessment of the region's economic outlook from Australia's
central bank.
The MSCI index has lost nearly 9 percent so far this year.
Investors were largely neutral on Asian equities, with five
of the 16 Asian exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracked by
TrimTabs Investment Research posting an inflow, five having
outflows and the rest flat.
"In China, market liquidity deteriorated for the third
straight month in June, and huge bank offerings will keep it
tight in July," the research firm said.
Shanghai stocks <> were virtually flat, a day after
gaining nearly 2 percent on hopes that money will move back
into the oversold market after the completion of Agricultural
Bank of China's mammoth initial public offering of more than
$20 billion, which could be the world's largest.
[]
The Shanghai market, the world's second-worst performer
after Greece, has lost 27 percent since the start of the year
after Beijing took a range of steps to cool surging property
prices.
FUND-RAISING FEVER
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China <1398.HK>
<601398.SS> may raise up to 45 billion yuan ($6.6 billion)
through rights offers in a rush to replenish their coffers, a
banking source told IFR Asia, a Thomson Reuters publication, on
Wednesday.
Shares of ICBC, the world's most valuable lender, slid
nearly 1.8 percent in Hong Kong trading.
South Korean shares <> shed nearly 0.6 percent, as
Samsung Electronics <005930.KS>, Asia's biggest tech company by
market value, slipped despite posting a record quarterly
operating profit estimate as downbeat U.S. data weighed.
Japan's Nikkei average <> fell 0.6 percent as shares
of exporters that had risen the day before gave back some of
the gains, but the index remained above a seven-month low hit
on Tuesday.
"There's little short-covering left today because investors
already moved to cover short positions yesterday after the
Nikkei managed to avoid breaking below the 9,000 level," said
Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
"The verdict has yet to be reached, but a sense of relief
could spread if the Nikkei were to be able to keep above that
level despite confusion in Europe, a slowdown in America and
volatile currency moves."
Meanwhile, the euro <EUR=> eased to $1.2585, with near-term
resistance around the May 21 high of $1.2670 and support
forming at the July 2 low of $1.2480.
The single currency rose to as high as $1.2662 on Tuesday,
gaining nearly 0.7 percent.
The dollar index <.DXY> edged up 0.18 percent to 84.237.
The dollar was steady against the yen <JPY=> at 87.49 yen,
not far from a seven-month low of 86.96 yen hit on EBS last
week. The yen has made solid gains against the greenback in
recent sessions on growing worries about an economic slowdown
in the United States and falling stock markets <.SPX>.
The Australian dollar shed half of a percent to $0.8480
<AUD=D4>, giving back some of its 1.5 percent climb the
previous day, as Asian share prices fell.
Meanwhile, spot gold <XAU=> rose as much as $3.60 to
$1,195.85 an ounce, regaining strength after falling to a
six-week low in the previous day.
U.S. crude prices <CLc1> gained 12 cents to $72.10 per
barrel, pulling away from a four-week low hit on Tuesday as
traders bet on a further decline in U.S. oil inventories.
(Editing by Alex Richardson)
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