* MSCI global stocks index at near 2-year low
* Oil rises to $117 as storm threatens Gulf of Mexico
* US bank deposit insurer may borrow from Treasury - WSJ
(Updates prices, adds European outlook)
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.
European stock markets were expected to open little
changed, according to financial bookmakers, with investor focus
centered on earnings from brewer Heineken <HEIN.AS> and miner
Antofagasta <ANTO.L>.
Oil prices climbed for a third day, supported by fears that
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 2 percent rise 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 3-year low and U.S. new home
sales that were lower than expected, though 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 <> ended down 0.2
percent, closer to a five-month low touched last Friday.
"There's 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 Asia-Pacific <.MIAPJ0000PUS> were
up 0.8 percent, but still within sight of a 17-month low hit
last 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 jump in
quarterly profit, more than analysts had expected.
Stocks listed on the Shanghai composite index <> were
essentially flat. The index has more than halved so far this
year, making it the world's worst performing major equity
market.
The Chinese 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>.
There were 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. []
Still, the fate of the U.S. financial sector was uncertain,
particularly after the Wall Street Journal reported the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp might have to borrow money from the
Treasury Department to get it through an expected wave of bank
failures. []
The euro <EUR=> rose 0.3 percent to about $1.4693, bouncing
up from an overnight low of around $1.4570. The dollar fell 0.4
percent against the yen to 109.15 yen <JPY=>, off more than 1
yen from a 7-month high around 110.66 yen set two weeks ago.
The October U.S. light crude future rose 37 cents to
$116.64 a barrel <CLc1>, having now recovered more than $5 from
a 3-month low hit on Aug. 15.
Gold prices, which have tended to trade in the opposite
direction to the U.S. dollar for several weeks, rose 0.2
percent in the spot market <XAU=> to around $826 an ounce.
(Additional reporting by Taiga Uranaka in TOKYO)
(Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
