(Repeating to additional subscribers with no changes to text)
* Asia stocks head for worst quarter since late 2008
* Euro struggles near a two-week low, outlook shaky
* Oil falls, but gold gains on flight to save havens
By Kevin Yao
SINGAPORE, June 30 (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell on
Wednesday and ended the second quarter with their worst
performance since the collapse of Lehman Brothers as investors
got out of shares and high-yielding currencies on concerns over
bank funding in Europe.
Asian stocks have slipped nearly 10 percent in the past
three months and are on course for their worst quarterly
performance since last three months of 2008, when investors
fled to safety after the Lehman collapse and Asian shares
dropped 23 percent.
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For a graphics comparing Asia's equity and sovereign CDS
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/AS_MARKETS_H1.html
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European shares are set to open mixed, with financial
spreadbetters expecting Britain's FTSE 100 <> to open 0.1
percent down, Germany's DAX <> to open 0.2 percent up,
and France's CAC-40 <> to open almost flat.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> dropped 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei average
<> fell 2 percent to a seven-month low after breaking
below a support level.
South Korea's bechmark KOSPI <> fell 0.6 percent,
driven by falls in exporters and banks such as Hynix
Semiconductor Inc <000660.KS> and Shinhan Financial Group Co
<055550.KS>.
"Given that the market has risen pretty sharply since late
May, I am not overly alarmed by the size of falls we are seeing
today," said Choi Seong-lak, a market analyst at SK Securities.
KOSPI has gained 8 percent in the past month after hitting a
six-month low on May 25.
Fears of a potential liquidity shortfall of more than 100
billion euros in the financial system as European banks repay
442 billion euros ($546 billion) in emergency loans sparked the
latest sell-off in equity markets, with the Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> tumbling more than 3 percent to an eight-month
low. []
Risk reduction was fuelled by a report that showed a slump
in U.S. consumer confidence. []
Chinese stocks <> fell 1.2 percent, extending a 4
percent slide on Tuesday to a new 14-month low, as tight market
liquidity forced investors to sell shares to make room for a
major initial public offering by Agricultural Bank of China.
EURO OUTLOOK SHAKY
The euro edged up but stayed near recent lows, after a
heavy round of leveraged trade unwinding, while the euro was
also within range of a record low on the haven Swiss franc.
The euro got a bit of a lift from light short-covering from
Middle East investors and an Asian investor, one dealer said,
but chartwise needed to hold above $1.2145-55 and then $1.2110
to avoid a slide towards its four-year low at $1.1876.
The euro <EURJPY=R> edged up 0.2 percent to 108.15 yen but
remained well within sight of its 8-
