GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks at 1-mth high; euro rebounds

                                
 * Wall Street rebound buoys sentiment, Asia stocks up 1.2
pct
                                
 * Economic fundamentals little changed, EU meeting awaited
                                
 * MSCI Asia ex-Japan stocks valuation below 5-year average
                                
 By Kevin Plumberg
                                
 HONG KONG, June 14 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose to a
one-month high on Monday, led by a rally in the technology
sector, while the euro rebounded in thin trade, squeezed higher
by dealers forced to close bets against the currency.
                                
 Major European stock futures were up as much as 1.1 percent
as investors bought back risky assets. [ID:nLDE65D054]
                                
 Global equities are set for a fourth consecutive session of
gains, driven mainly by the materials sector, which closely
follows business cycles. The same sector has been heavily sold
since April, as investors cut exposure to riskier assets,
fearing the worldwide recovery was losing momentum.
                                
 However, tech stocks were leading major indexes in Japan
and South Korea higher on Monday, after semiconductor
chipmakers last week gave positive news about demand, helping
Wall Street recover early losses on Friday.
                                
 The fundamental picture has not changed much, with many
economists still expecting the U.S. economy to grow around 3
percent this year and next, even after May U.S. retail sales
unexpectedly fell for the first time in eight months.
                                
 "We're seeing pretty active short-covering on a sense that
recent risk avoidance moves were exaggerated, leaving markets
oversold," said Takashi Ushio, head of the investment strategy
division at Marusan Securities in Tokyo.
                                
 Japan's Nikkei share average rose 1.8 percent, with tech
names TDK <6762.T> and NTT Data <9613.T> among the biggest
boosts to the index.
                                
 The market for semiconductors will likely grow 6 to 7
percent for the next five years, helped by strong demand in
China, Morris Chang, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's
<2330.TW> chief executive and chairman, told the Financial
Times. [ID:nLDE65D00A]
                                
 TSMC is the world's biggest contract chipmaker.
                                
 ASIA STOCKS STILL CHEAP
                                
 The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> climbed 1.4 percent to the highest since May
19.
                                
 The index is trading at 11.5 times its earnings expected 12
months forward, a bit higher than at the start of June but
still cheaper than the 5-year average of 13.2 times, Thomson
Reuters I/B/E/S data showed.
                                
 With bets against the euro near record highs and bets on
the Australian dollar slashed last week, dealers took advantage
of the relative quiet and trimmed their positions.
                                
 The euro was up 0.6 percent to $1.2192, having earlier
triggered small stop-loss orders all the way up to around
$1.2207 <EUR=>.
                                
 This week the focus for the euro will be a meeting of
European Union leaders on Thursday to convince sceptical
investors they can tighten budgets to contain a sovereign debt
crisis and boost growth at the same time. [ID:nLDE65C0FB]
                                
 "I suspect there are euro short positions left in markets
so there will probably be a bit more short-covering," said
Daisuke Karakama, a market economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank
in Tokyo.
                                
 "But its rebound will run out of gas. There will be an EU
summit this week, but European policymakers appear to have run
out of policy steps for now."
                                
 The Australian dollar was up 0.6 percent to US$0.8570,
having strengthened by nearly 4 cents in the last week. It
peaked just below $0.94 in April and then found support at
$0.8065-80, making chartists look for signals that it can
recover higher.
                                
 Short-term investors in the International Monetary Market
cut their bets on the Australian dollar in half in the week to
June 8, suggesting that positioning will not be an obstacle to
further strength in the currency. [ID:nN11158565]
                                
 The Korean won leapt around 1.9 percent <KRW=>, a relief
rally after Seoul announced foreign exchange regulations over
the weekend that were largely in line with expectations.
[ID:nSGE6590DA]
                                
 The weaker dollar was one of the factors pushing up oil
prices. U.S. crude for July delivery rose 1.4 percent to $74.79
a barrel <CLc1>.
                                
 Since crude traded at a 10-month low on May 20, it has
drifted higher and gained $10.
 (Additional reporting by Charlotte Cooper and Elaine Lies in
TOKYO; Edited by Jeremy Laurence)