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* Focus on Intel's outlook for business spending
* US dollar stabilises near lows, commodities rally pauses
* US crude slips below $73 but may have limited downside
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged up to a
14-month high, while the U.S. dollar steadied on Tuesday, with
some investors taking bets that third-quarter U.S. corporate
earnings, expected to shrink for the ninth quarter, will be
good enough to keep a rally going.
Oil prices slipped below $73 a barrel after settling at a
seven-week high on Monday. A steady 11 percent decline in the
U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies since March has
supported commodity prices, which are mostly priced in dollars.
Wall Street finished higher on Monday, but some late
session profit-taking made some investors unsure how to play
results from the world's biggest chip maker Intel <INTC.O>,
which is due to report after New York market close on Tuesday.
[]
The focus will be on the outlook for business spending
given Intel's global reach.
"When Intel reports earnings, its outlook will likely be
particularly in focus. If chipmakers were to say they expect
demand to increase, that would mean the economy is on the
mend," said Mitsuo Shimizu, deputy general manager at Cosmo
Securities in Tokyo.
ASIAN ENERGY, FINANCIAL STOCKS GAIN
After a long holiday weekend, Japan's Nikkei share average
<> rose 0.4 percent, with electronics and car maker stocks
providing the main support to the index.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 0.6 percent in choppy trading to the
highest since August 12. The energy and financial sectors
outperformed, while IT and consumer discretionary
underperformed.
South Korea's benchmark KOSPI <> fell 1 percent, the
worst performing major market in the region, on fears earnings
may peak in the third quarter. []
A report that Norea Korea was preparing to fire more
short-range missiles a day after it launched five off its east
coast had a limited impact on financial markets.
This week 29 companies in the S&P 500 will post results,
including Citigroup <C.N> and Goldman Sachs <GS.N>. The entire
S&P 500 is expected to show earnings shrank 25 percent in the
third quarter compared with a year ago, though financials will
reflect the highest growth rate of any industry, at 58 percent,
Thomson Reuters research showed.
In currency markets, the U.S. dollar had a respite. The
euro was largely unchanged at $1.4775 and the dollar was
trading at 89.85 yen, steady on the day.
However, the ICE Futures U.S. dollar index <.DXY>, which
gauges its value against a basket of six other major
currencies, was still close to a 14-month low hit last
Thursday.
U.S. crude for November delivery fell 28 cents to $72.99 a
barrel <CLc1>, after rising for three straight sessions to
settle at a seven-week high the previous day.
A monthly report by producer group OPEC, due later in the
day, as well as the direction of equity markets, could also
offer clues on the outlook for global oil demand.
"Sentiment is moderately positive, and while fundamentals
do not necessarily justify higher prices, the trend of a weaker
dollar has been a big boost," said Sumisho Sano, General
Manager of Research at SCM Securities in Tokyo.
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi in TOKYO and Jennifer
Tan in SINGAPORE; Editing by Jan Dahinten)
