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* Asian stocks retreat after hitting 6-mth high on China
GDP
* Safe-haven yen gains, dollar falls after data
* Signs of hope still remain as some bet worst is behind
By Rafael Nam
HONG KONG, April 16 (Reuters) - Asian stocks pulled back
from a six-month high on Thursday, while the safe-haven yen
gained after China posted its slowest ever quarterly growth in
a signal of the frailty of the global economy.
A day after a mixed set of economic data from the United
States, it was China's turn, saying its economy grew a
slower-than-expected 6.1 percent in the first quarter, but
posting other data, such as industrial output, that signaled
some optimism. []
After an impressive month-long rally in global equities
investors still appear conflicted between seeing glimmers of
hope that the world economic downturn is showing signs of
easing and other indicators that point to more pain ahead.
Riskier assets, such as oil, also pared gains but not by
too much, helped as well by speculation that China could
implement a new stimulus package reinforced hopes that policy
maker worldwide are in battle mode amidst the worst global
downturn in decades.
Central bankers are cutting interest rates and flooding
liquidity into financial systems, further reinforcing some of
these hopes.
"No doubt China has felt the ramifications of the global
crisis and growth has moderated, but the economy is showing
signs of stabilising and we can expect a recovery in the second
half," said Su-Lin ong, a senior economist at RBC Capital
Markets in Sydney.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> gained 0.8 percent as of 0245 GMT. The index
had gained as much as 2.1 percent earlier in the day that
brought it to its highest since Oct. 15.
Contributing to the reversal, indexes in Hong Kong <>
erased earlier gains to edge lower, while shares in Shanghai
<> were down 0.5 percent.
However, other major indexes maintained their strength,
with South Korea <> and Taiwan <> up nearly 2 percent
each.
Japan's Nikkei average <> was up 2.9 percent.
Contradictory signals are also afflicting the U.S. economy.
On Wednesday, data showed U.S. consumer prices in March
posted their first 12-month drop in nearly 54 years, while
industrial production slipped further. However, other reports
suggest the steep descent in the world's largest economy may be
slowing.
The Federal Reserve said economic activity in some parts of
the economy appeared to be stabilizing, and other data showed
that a decline in factory activity in New York state eased this
month and that national homebuilder sentiment jumped.
[]
The yen benefitted from the uncertainty, as it typically
does at times of volatility, while investors sold riskier
currencies.
The dollar slipped to 99.18 yen after the Chinese data from
99.42 yen <JPY=> beforehand, while sterling fell to 148.95 yen
<GBPJP=R> from about 149.46 and the Australian dollar dropped
to 72.10 yen <AUDJPY=R> from 72.50.
Oil prices also pared gains. After gaining to above $50 a
barrel, prices of U.S. light, sweet crude <CLc1> were last up
42 cents at $49.67 a barrel.
