* Asia stocks gain 1.3 pct, pull away from 1-month low
* Dollar, gold and government bonds lose ground
* Eyes on quick action by incoming Obama administration
* Activity subdued before U.S. national holiday
By Eric Burroughs
HONG KONG, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Asian stocks pushed higher on
Monday and the dollar lost ground as investors looked for U.S.
President-elect Barack Obama to quickly roll out hefty economic
stimulus spending and a revived plan to buy bad bank assets.
Obama is set to take office on Tuesday following a U.S.
national holiday on Monday, and many investors have hoped for
weeks that he will undertake aggressive action to help pull the
economy out of its deep, year-long recession.
A top Obama adviser, David Axelrod, said the incoming
administration is considering setting up a government-run bank
to acquire bad assets -- the original purpose of the $700
billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. []
Stocks have clawed back after the U.S. government injected
$20 billion of capital into Bank of America <BAC.N> last week
and offered debt guarantees to help its take-over of Merrill
Lynch <MER.N>.
Barclays Plc <BARC.L> responded to a 25 percent tumble in
its shares on Friday by saying it expects to report a pre-tax
profit for 2008. The move came as news reports said Britain is
poised to unveil a nearly $300 billion toxic debt guarantee for
its banks later on Monday, its second bank rescue package in
four months.
Renewed fears that major financial institutions will be
forced to write down billions of dollars more in assets and
raise significant capital have taken the wind out of a brief
revival of risk taking, driving many equity indexes to
one-month lows last week.
"The focus is now on the inauguration of the U.S.
president. Hopes are growing again as economic stimulus steps
will likely be bigger than previously thought, and may include
additional measures to shore up banks," said Takahiko Murai,
general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities in Tokyo.
Investors are bracing for more dismal news from companies
as quarterly earnings season kicks into high gear, which could
deal another blow to the rebound in stocks and emerging market
currencies from lows hit late last year.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 1.3 percent and is up 21 percent from a
five-year low hit in November. The MSCI index had been up as
much as 37 percent from that low early in January.
Japan's Nikkei average <> gained 0.8 percent, helped
by the yen's broad dip that gave a boost to shares of major
exporting companies.
South Korean shares <> rose 1.4 percent as battered
technology shares advanced on hopes the industry downturn may
have hit a bottom.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index <> rose 0.9 percent,
despite further losses for index heavyweight bank HSBC
<0005.HK>, which fell 3.4 percent on continued fears it may
have to raise more capital and cut its dividend as global
economic turmoil worsens.
Traditional safe havens -- the dollar, government bonds and
gold -- backtracked as investors shifted into riskier assets.
The euro edged up 0.5 percent to $1.3360 <EUR=>, up from a
one-month low near $1.3025 hit last week. The dollar was up 0.4
percent versus the yen at 91.05 yen <JPY=>, getting a lift from
the yen's broad retreat.
The Australian dollar jumped 1.3 percent against the yen to
61.90 yen <AUDJPY=R>, despite a retreat in commodity prices,
which tends to move in close tandem with metals because the
country is a big exporter.
Gold prices <XAU=> fell $4.85 an ounce to $837.00, while
U.S. crude oil for February delivery <CLc1> shed 26 cents to
$36.25 a barrel.
Japanese government bonds also pulled back, lifting
two-year yields from a three-year low touched last week.
The benchmark 10-year yield <JP10YTN=JBTC> climbed 4 basis
points to 1.255 percent, while the two-year yield <JP2YTN=JBTC>
rose 2.5 basis points to 0.715 percent. So far in 2009, JGB
yields are mostly unchanged.
Naomi Hasegawa, senior fixed-income strategist at
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities it Tokyo, said the key for the bond
market will be whether stocks remain resilient once Obama is
sworn in.
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi and Masayuki Kitano
in Tokyo and Jungyoun Park in Seoul; Editing by Kim Coghill)
