* Asia shares rise, buoyed by upbeat earnings
* Dollar resumes slide to 14-mth lows on U.S. rate outlook
* British pound hits one-month high ahead of UK GDP data
* European stock futures up 1 pct
By Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Friday
as investors were encouraged by upbeat earnings reports from
the United States and Asia while the dollar resumed a broad
slide after a Fed official indicated U.S. rates would remain
low.
European stock futures <STXEc1> gained 1 percent while U.S.
equity futures <SPc1> edged up 0.2 percent.
The British pound <GBP=> hit its highest level in a month
against the dollar at $1.6679 at one point ahead of UK
third-quarter GDP data later in the day which is expected to
show a return to growth. []
"After (Bank of England Governor Mervyn) King's recent
bullish comments, if GDP is good, that will help sterling,"
said Kazuyuki Kato, treasury department manager at Mizuho Trust
& Banking in Tokyo.
"But the pace of sterling's gains will likely moderate as
speculator short-covering nears its end."
Minutes from the Bank of England and comments from its
governor have encouraged views that it may not extend its 175
billion pound ($290.8 billion) quantitative easing next month,
although another BOE policy maker threw that back into doubt on
Thursday. []
Shanghai's benchmark share index <> was up 2 percent
as a government researcher said China's mighty export sector
was likely to resume year-on-year growth this quarter.
[]
Bullish earnings in the United States from 3M Co <MMM.N>,
AT&T Inc <T.N> and McDonald's Corp <MCD.N> on Thursday and
further strong earnings reports in Asia on Friday buoyed equity
investors.
DOLLAR VULNERABLE
Shares in South Korea rose 0.6 percent, helped by a 6.7
percent surge in Kia Motors Corp <000270.KS> after the
country's No. 2 car maker said it swung to a record quarterly
profit, helped by a weaker won <KRW=>. []
Hynix Semiconductor Inc <000660.KS>, the world's No. 2
memory chip maker, announced a quarterly profit after seven
quarterly losses. Its stock however has already nearly trebled
this year and dipped 0.3 percent.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 1.3 percent while the Thomson Reuters
index of regional shares <STXEc1> was 1.5 percent higher.
Shares in Japan finished up just 0.2 percent but exporters
like electronics giant Sony Corp <6758.T> gained on a weaker
yen <JPY=>.
The dollar hit a 15-month low against the Swiss franc
<CHF=> below 1.0035 francs. It headed back toward 14-month lows
against a basket of currencies <.DXY> after Chicago Federal
Reserve President Charles Evans reinforced the view that U.S.
rates will stay low, saying the Federal Reserve's focus
remained on an accommodative rate policy. []
"The dollar looks vulnerable to a short, brutal move to the
spring 2008 lows," said David Watt, senior currency strategist
at RBC Capital in Australia.
The euro <EUR=> rose above $1.5047 for the first time in 14
months.
Gold <XAU=> hovered above $1,060 an ounce, benefiting from
the dollar's slide. The oil price <CLc1> edged above $81 a
barrel after solid U.S. earnings reports raised the prospect of
higher oil demand as the global economy continues to recover.
Shares in Hong Kong were up 1.5 percent by midday, helped
by a 1.4 percent rise in global bank HSBC <0005.HK>, which said
on Thursday it would almost double its stake in Vietnam
insurance and financial firm Bao Viet <BVH.HM>, continuing its
expansion in emerging markets. []
(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag in SYDNEY and Kaori
Kaneko in TOKYO; editing by Kazunori Takada)
(susan.fenton@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6367; Reuters
Messaging: susan.fenton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
