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* Japanese shares up 1.2 percent, helped by exporters
* Aussie dollar hits fresh one-year high
* South Korean authorities intervene again to curb rising
won
By Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Asian stocks hit their
highest level in 13 months on Thursday and the Australian
dollar surged after U.S. economic data raised hopes that the
global economic recovery was strengthening.
Shares in Japan <> rose 1.2 percent as a Reuters
Tankan survey showed the mood among Japanese manufacturers this
month was at its highest level in a year on expectations
conditions would improve in the next three months.
[]
Hopes that the pace of global economic recovery was
accelerating kept the U.S. dollar close to the one-year low it
hit against a basket of currencies <.DXY> on Wednesday, as
investors continued to buy riskier assets and higher-yielding
currencies, including the Australian dollar <AUD=>, which hit a
fresh one-year high.
South Korean authorities were spotted intervening for a
second day after the won <KRW=> hit an 11-month high at
1,204.9. Strong sales reports from the country's top three
department stores helped push the benchmark KOSPI index <>
up 0.9 percent although there was a note of caution from the
Finance Ministry, which said the economy faced high
uncertainty.
EXPORTERS RISE
Gold and oil prices <Clc1> steadied as the dollar stopped
sliding. Gold <XAU=> was trading at around $1,016 after hitting
an 18-month high on Wednesday but shares of gold miners were
still in demand and Australia's Newcrest Mining <NCM.AX> rose
1.6 percent.
"Commodities are looking good again," said Martin Angel, a
dealer at Patersons Securities.
"A lot of people are suggesting (gold) is a hedge against
inflation, so a lot of people are looking around for gold
stocks."
Oil steadied above $72 a barrel and was underpinned by data
showing a much sharper-than-expected drop in U.S. crude oil
stockpiles last week.
Share and commodity markets were buoyed by U.S. data which
showed industrial output in the world's biggest economy rose
for a second month in August and inflation was tame. That
pushed the Dow Jones industrial average <> up 1.1 percent
on Wednesday.
In Asia, the MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded
outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 1.3 percent by mid-morning
on Thursday, its highest level since August last year.
Winning stocks included exporters such as Japanese car
maker Toyota Motor <7203.T> and electronics giant Sony Corp
<6758.T>, as well as South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor
<000660.KS>, the world's No. 2 memory chip maker.
Toyota and Sony were up 1.4 and 2.6 percent respectively
while Hynix rose 1.7 percent.
Shares of Australian resources shares were also boosted by
optimism that global growth could be faster than forecast.
Top miners BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> and Rio Tinto <RIO.AX>
jumped 1.8 percent and 2.6 percent respectively while
Australia's biggest independent oil and gas group, Woodside
Petroleum <WPL.AX>, surged 3.1 percent.
Expected rising demand for commodities helped push the
Aussie dollar past $0.8751 to a fresh one-year high while the
Kiwi <NZD=> skirted 13-month highs at $0.7157 reached in
offshore trade.
China shares <> were 1.3 percent higher while Japanese
government bonds retreated as Tokyo stocks gained ground --
further evidence that increasingly confident investors are
moving away from safe havens into riskier assets.
