* Most stock markets edge up, buoyed by resources
* Nikkei shrugs off finmin resignation, yen down slightly
* Aussie hits 15-mth high on retail sales surge
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Asian shares edged up on Thursday,
buoyed by resource shares, while the dollar was on the
defensive after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest
policy meeting suggested the possibility of more stimulus
measures for the U.S. economy.
The Australian dollar jumped to a 15-month high against the
yen and a two-year peak against the euro after November retail
sales surged past all expectations, adding to the chances of a
fourth straight rise in interest rates next month. It shot to a
15-month high on the yen.
Japanese markets were calm after Japan named fiery Deputy
Prime Minister Naoto Kan as finance minister on Wednesday,
turning to a politician with less hawkish fiscal views than his
predecessor. []
But some investors were wary in the wake of minutes from
the Fed's last meeting as well as a report showing the U.S.
service sector showed only marginal growth. A private-sector
employment report showed job losses slowing down but the result
was still higher than expected. []
"Investors will tread carefully today, as U.S. economic
data which came out overnight was not stellar," said Kim
Seung-han, a market analyst at HI Investment Securities.
Many are turning their focus to U.S. non-farm payrolls data
due out on Friday to wait for trading direction. The rate of
job losses at U.S. private employers slowed in December to
84,000 from 145,000 in November but still exceeded the 72,000
expected by economists.
"Investors are waiting for the U.S. jobs report on Friday
but the current climate of the market is one of investors
willing to take risk," said Tomohiro Nishida, treasury
department manager at Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking.
Australian shares <> edged down 0.1 percent, with
weakness in major financial stocks offsetting gains in miners
and retailers that analysts said could be due to investors
moving out of the sector to put their money to work in mining
shares.
BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> rose 0.5 percent and Rio Tinto
<RIO.X> rose 0.8 percent.
Japan's Nikkei <> edged up 0.1 percent, largely on
strength from resource shares, but gains were limited by
worries about overheating after the benchmark hit a 15-month
closing high on Wednesday.
Japan Airlines Corp <9205.T> dropped 8.3 percent after the
Nikkei business daily reported the airline is likely to post a
net loss of 1.23 trillion yen ($13.3 billion) this financial
year due to a huge restructuring charge, according to a plan
from a state-backed turnaround fund. []
The MSCI Index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS>, which has been trading at 17-month highs,
edged up 0.3 percent. A similar Thomson Reuters index
<.TRXFLDAXPU> was flat.
COMMODITIES, AUSSIE SHINE
Copper on Wednesday hit a 16-month high after upbeat U.S.
manufacturing and auto sales data earlier in the week added to
signs of economic improvement and raised prospects for better
demand for metals. [] []
Aluminium climbed on supply concerns as harsh cold weather
hit parts of China, while lead and zinc also rose to multimonth
highs.
But gold inched lower on Thursday after hitting a
three-week high. Spot gold <XAU=> was changing hands at
$1,133.70 an ounce as of 0210 GMT.
The Australian dollar shone after retail sales rose 1.4
percent in November, strengthening hopes for another interest
rate hike, which stands at 3.75 percent after three
25-basis-point increases in as many months. []
"Rates at the moment are just too low for an economy that
has proven very resilient and has come out of a global
recession rather unscathed," said Helen Kevans, an economist at
JPMorgan.
"We expect rates at 4.5 percent mid-year and 5 percent by
year-end."
The Aussie rose as far as $0.9268 <AUD=> after the data
before falling back to $0.9230. It shot up as far as 85.54 yen,
its highest since late Sept. 2008 <AUDJPY=R>.
The dollar index <.DXY>, which measures the value of the
greenback against a basket of currencies, was flat at 77.482.
It lost some ground against the euro the previous day after the
release of the Fed minutes.
Crude oil for February delivery <CLc1> fell back below $83
on Thursday after settling up $1.41 a day earlier, its highest
close since Oct 9, 2008.
(Additional reporting by Jungyoung Park in SEOUL and Kaori
Kaneko in TOKYO)
