* CNOOC results awaited as Hong Kong index up
* MSCI global stocks index at near two-year low
* Oil rises to $117 as storm threatens Gulf of Mexico
(Updates prices, adds Citi downgrade of Samsung)
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Asian exporter shares fell on
Wednesday as oil rose to $117 a barrel and developed economies
sputtered, though investors found some value in energy stocks
and companies dependent on domestic growth.
Shares in Hong Kong and Taiwan rose while markets in Japan
and Singapore all dipped, though losses were modest.
Oil prices climbed for a third day, supported by fears
Tropical Storm Gustav, downgraded from a hurricane, could
damage crude and natural gas assets in the Gulf of Mexico.
Although prices are about $30 below record highs hit in July,
this week's move back higher is a reminder of corporate Asia's
vulnerability to cost pressures.
The U.S. dollar fell after hitting a six-month high against
the euro on Tuesday, as dealers closed out of short-term bets
on further strength after the currency did not extend gains in
Asia.
Reports overnight generally reflected differing degrees of
weakness in Europe and the United States, with sentiment on
German business activity at a three-year low and U.S. new home
sales that were lower than expected but up from the prior
month.
Big exporter stocks like Honda Motor Co <7267.T> and
Samsung Electronics <005930.KS> weighed on their respective
indexes. Citi slashed its 2008 and 2009 profit forecasts for
consumer gadgets maker Samsung by 26 and 29 percent,
respectively, citing falling prices and high marketing costs.
Japan's Nikkei share average <> was down 0.2 percent,
creeping back down toward a five-month low touched on Friday.
"There are some news relevant for specific stocks but we
don't see any new factors to impact the overall market, either
positive or negative," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, head of
investment information department at SMBC Friend Securities in
Tokyo.
Outside Japan, stocks in the Asia-Pacific region
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> were up 0.8 percent but within sight of a
17-month low hit last week Thursday, according to an MSCI
index.
A BEIJING BOOST?
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index <> rose 0.7 percent,
boosted by shares of China Life Insurance <2628.HK>, which
rallied after the country's biggest life insurer posted a
smaller-than-expected decline in first half profits.
Index heavyweight China Mobile Ltd <0941.HK>, the world's
largest wireless operator, posted a 51 percent rise in
quarterly profit, more than analysts expected.
Stocks listed on the Shanghai composite index <> fell
1.3 percent. It is down just over 50 percent so far this year,
making it the worst performing major equity market in the
world.
The Chinese stock market has been locked in a downward
spiral, weighed partly by expectations for slowing growth but
also by investor unease about a massive amount of previously
untraded company shares that are scheduled to turn public and
greatly increase the total floating market capitalisation.
Donald Straszheim, a long-time China analyst, said in a
note to clients the Chinese government will likely step in to
help the market because of its penchant for intervention.
"The most likely course is for Beijing to create yet
another mechanism that limits the unlocking for a few more
years. It will need to be several years or it will not be
sufficiently protective of current investors to lift sentiment
on a sustained basis," said Straszheim, vice chairman of Roth
Capital Partners in Los Angeles.
Global stock markets are also in a downward trend and hit a
near two-year low on Tuesday, according to the MSCI all-country
world index <.MIWD00000PUS>. However, there are reasons for
cautious optimism.
Short interest, essentially bets on falling asset prices,
dipped on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange in the first
half of August, suggesting investors may think the worst of the
market downturn may be over. In particular, investors cut short
positions in financial shares, and increased their bets against
some Canadian resources stocks. []
The euro <EUR=> rose 0.5 percent to about $1.4720, bouncing
up from an overnight low of around $1.4570. The dollar fell 0.6
percent against the yen to 108.98 yen <JPY=>, off more than a
yen from a seven-month high around 110.66 yen set two weeks
ago.
U.S. light crude rose 77 cents to $117.04 a barrel <CLc1>,
having now recovered more than $5 from a three-month low
plumbed on August 15.
Gold prices, which have tended to trade in the opposite
direction of the U.S. dollar for the last several weeks, rose
0.5 percent in the spot market <XAU=> to $827.80 an ounce.
(Additional reporting by Taiga Uranaka in TOKYO, editing by
Dhara Ranasinghe)
