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* Dollar slips as Dubai worries fade
* News of BOJ meeting weighs on yen
* Asian shares steady after Monday's bounce
* Aussie dlr steady as market divided ahead of rate
decision
By Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The dollar slipped on Tuesday
as fears about the ripple effects of Dubai's debt woes eased
while Asian shares were steady as investors took a breather
after Monday's bounce.
The dollar <.DXY> dipped 0.2 percent against a basket of
major currencies in early trade, reflecting cautious optimism
that Dubai's problems with repaying debt would be contained,
making it less pressing for investors to seek a safe haven. It
later crept up and held steady after the Bank of Japan
announced it will hold an emergency meeting at 0500
GMT.[]
Asian share markets were also steady after bouncing back on
Monday.
In Australia, shares were flat <.AXJ0>, and the Australian
dollar <AUD=> was steady, ahead of an interest rate decision at
0330 GMT. Investors were torn over whether to expect a 25 basis
point rate rise or whether the slide in global equity markets
late last week triggered by the Dubai scare would prompt the
Reserve Bank of Australia to keep rates unchanged.
Dubai World, the holding company at the heart of the Dubai
crisis, on Monday announced a restructuring plan involving $26
billion in debt. However, there was lingering concern among
global investors after the Dubai government said it was not
responsible for Dubai World's debts, dealing a blow to
creditors' assumptions that the Arab emirate would guarantee
the government-controlled conglomerate's liabilities
[].
"Dubai is still a risk but most of Asia has very limited
exposure to Dubai other than isolated banks. So people may want
to avoid the banks but most other companies are okay," said
Francis Cheung, an equities strategist at CLSA in Hong Kong.
Singapore's DBS Group <DBSM.SI>, Southeast Asia's top
lender, announced that it had $1.28 billion exposure to Dubai
but its shares were up 0.6 percent, in line with the market.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 0.3 percent while the Thomson Reuters
index of regional shares <.TRXFLDAXPU> was down 0.6 percent.
BOJ MEETING
Asian markets were encouraged by gains on Wall Street where
the Dow Jones <> edged up 0.3 percent and there was good
news after the closing bell as quarterly profits from retailer
Guess Inc <GES.N> beat expectations and forecast holiday season
earnings would exceed Wall Street estimates. []
However, analysts said there was little news to drive Asian
stocks higher after they bounced back on Monday.
Japan's Nikkei <> index was down 1 percent as profit
taking emerged after the market jumped nearly 3 percent on
Monday.
Japanese government bond futures hit a 10-month high after
Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii boosted expectations for
further monetary easing by the Bank of Japan as the yen's
recent march to a 14-year high against the dollar has raised
the risk of deepening deflation. []
As the Bank of Japan was due to hold a special policy
meeting at 0500 GMT, the yen <JPY=> dipped against the dollar.
"Investors are finding it hard to buy the yen further as
the tone of remarks from Japanese authorities has changed
recently," said Kazuyuki Takami, senior manager of foreign
exchange trading at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in Tokyo.
Japanese officials have sounded increasingly worried about
the yen's strength, which will hurt exporters and potentially
aggravate deflation.
Economic data out of Asia, including China purchasing
managers' indexes [][] and a near 20
percent rebound in South Korean exports last month
[], indicated regional recovery was under way but
had largely been factored into share prices.
Shares in Australian carrier Qantas <QAN.AX> however jumped
3.5 percent after the airline announced a 7 percent rise in
October passenger numbers.
The oil price <CLc1> was steady at $77.30 a barrel after
climbing 1.6 percent on Monday on news that Iran had
restructured its naval forces for operations in the event of a
conflict and had detained five Britons after their yacht
strayed into Iranian waters. [][]
Gold <XAU=> dipped slightly to $1,178.45 an ounce, but was
not far off its New York close at $1,179.10.
(Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko in TOKYO; editing by
Tomasz Janowski)
(susan.fenton@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6367; Reuters
Messaging: susan.fenton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
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