* Asian shares stick close to 6-wk highs as foreigners buy
* China data drives copper, oil and Australian dollar
* Euro under pressure after Fitch comments
* Pound struggles as rating concerns niggle
By Umesh Desai
HONG KONG, March 10 (Reuters) - The euro and sterling were
under pressure on Wednesday after renewed concerns about
Europe's fiscal problems but oil, copper and the Australian
dollar were supported by China's strong export and import data.
Asian stocks held around six-week highs as foreign funds
continued to flow into markets like Japan, South Korea and
India, with data showing emerging market equity funds posted a
third straight week of inflows.
But Europe was seen mixed after falling for two sessions,
reined in by Europe's fiscal worries.
Financial spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE 100 <>
to open 6 to 7 points lower, Germany's DAX <> to open
down 2 points to up 3 points, and France's CAC-40 <> to
open down 5 points to up 2 points.
The MSCI index of Asian shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> climbed 0.3 percent after rising as much as 0.4
percent to a fresh six-week high, as renewed hedge fund
activity increased volatility in markets around the region.
Powered by foreign investor buying, the benchmark has now
rallied more than 11 percent since hitting a five-month low in
February on Europe's festering debt problems.
It has recouped its year-to-date losses and is steady
compared with the end of 2009.
"The fact that foreign investors kept buying was positive
as it points to broader appetite for risk as the Greece
sovereign debt worries have eased significantly," said
Seoul-based Chung Myoung-gi, a market analyst at Samsung
Securities.
"But whether foreign buying will continue depends on how
Chinese economic data, particularly consumer prices, come out
this week. Eyes will also be on western Europe," Chung said.
The latest data from funds tracker EPFR shows investment
flowed into all emerging market equity funds for the third
straight week. Year to date, these funds have net inflows of
$2.2 billion.
CHINA BETTER THAN EXPECTED
Chinese data showed imports and exports last month were
stronger than expected. []
That helped oil prices to reverse their earlier falls and
move towards $82 a barrel. The trade figures showed China
switched to being a net refined fuel importer last month.
A surprise rise in copper imports also boosted the price of
the metal with the three month contract <CMCU3> gaining $40 on
the day. China is the world's biggest consumer of copper.
The Australian dollar <AUD=D4> jumped to above $0.915 after
the China trade data. China is the biggest buyer of Australia's
commodity exports.
But Shanghai's main stock index <> fell 0.8 percent,
with economists wary of ascribing too many policy implications
to the figures because of the timing of the Lunar New Year
holiday and a low base of comparison in 2009.
"The trend remains positive for risky assets and gains will
continue throughout March," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief
investment strategist at SJS Markets Ltd in Hong Kong. "There
is still some life left in the equity market rally."
But he warned that there could be some hesitancy in the
second quarter as governments, which had put in place emergency
measures and stimulus packages to pull their economies out of
recession, start rolling back these moves.
FLAT IN JAPAN
The Nikkei stock average <> was flat, also having hit
six-week highs in recent sessions, but recall-hit Toyota Motor
Corp <7203.T> fell 1.4 percent after a report that a Prius
model had sped out of control in the United States.
[]
"Money from overseas has been flowing into the Japanese
market since late last year and that's providing solid
support," said Hajime Nakajima, deputy general manager at Cosmo
Securities.
According to data from Nomura International, foreign
investors have pumped in a net $20.6 billion in Japanese
stocks.
"But given the global macro situation, including credit
worries in Europe, it'll take a while until investors actually
place Japan above 'neutral' in their portfolios," Nakajima
said.
Those worries have hurt the euro and pound in Asian trade.
The common currency came under fresh pressure after Fitch
ratings agency said on Tuesday it still had a negative outlook
on Portugal's credit rating. []
That fed concerns that peripheral euro zone economies may
face debt problems similar to those of Greece, where a fiscal
crisis has led investors to flee the euro in past weeks.
The euro <EUR=> fell to a low of $1.3588, before bouncing
marginally to trade just below $1.36.
The pound <GBP=D4> was struggling below $1.5000, having
been hit by weak data, fears around its sovereign rating and
apprehensions about the credit ratings of its banks.
Sterling has lost more than 7 percent this year on concerns
Britain will be stuck with a political deadlock after the
election expected in May.
(Additional reporting by Jungyoun Park in SEOUL and Aiko
Hayashi in TOKYO; Editing by Chris Allbritton)
