GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares dip on US consumer woes

                                
 * Asian shares ease on worries about US consumer
retrenchment
                                
 * Euro steady ahead of ECB, sterling dips ahead of BOE meet
                                
 * Oil, gold prices steady
  (Updates prices, adds European outlook)
                                
 By Rafael Nam
                                
 HONG KONG, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Thursday
after rising for two days, on deepening concerns about U.S.
consumer demand, while the euro steadied and sterling dipped
ahead of rate verdict from central banks.
                                
 Glum profit forecasts from U.S. consumer companies such as
Kraft <KFT.N> bode badly for export-dependant countries, though
Asian shares had briefly gained earlier on hopes for a recovery
in China's economy.
                                
 European shares were set to fall as well on Thursday, while
investors also shifted towards assets seen as safer such as
Japanese government bonds. Oil and gold prices were range
bound.
                                
 "Continued weakness in corporate results and economic data,
particularly from the United States, is weighing on sentiment,"
said Kim Joong-hyun, a market analyst at Goodmorning Shinhan
Securities in Seoul.
                                
 The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> fell 0.4 percent as of 0515 GMT after gaining
2.4 percent over the previous two sessions.
                                
 Japan's Nikkei average <.N225> fell 1.1 percent after a
volatile session. [.T]
                                
 An avalanche of negative news, sprinkled with an occasional
hopeful signal, has been the norm this year as investors come
to terms with a deteriorating global economy and persistent
woes in the vital financial sector.
                                
 Strong U.S. consumer spending had been the lynchpin for the
global economy in previous years, but has now become the drag
helping push the world's major engines of growth into
recession.
                                
 Food makers Kraft Foods Inc and Sara Lee Corp <SLE.N> have
cut their profit forecasts for the year, latest signs of the
problems hitting the world's largest economy. [ID:nN04515573]
                                
 Still, some investors are pinning hopes that a surge in
government spending in China and elsewhere could prevent the
downturn from worsening.
                                
 Chinese manufacturing data on Wednesday was also not as bad
as some in the market had expected, helping bolster sentiment.
                                
 "I think it's safe to say China's economy won't fall that
much. There's a bit of light here," said Katsuhiko Kodama,
senior strategist at Toyo Securities in Japan.
                                
 Shares in South Korea <.KS11> and India <.BSESN> fell more
than 1 percent each, while indexes in Shanghai <.SSEC>, Taiwan
<.TWII>, Singapore, and Australia dipped slightly. Hong Kong
<.HSI> shares rose.
                                
 Shipping firms such as South Korea's Hyundai Merchant
Marine <011200.KS> were among the day's leading gainers after
the Baltic Dry Index <.BADI> -- which measures changes in the
cost of shipping commodities -- jumped nearly 15 percent on
Wednesday.
                                
 The gains in that index reflect in part signs of recovering
demand for raw materials in China, analysts said.
                                
 PROACTIVE
                                
 China is not the only one taking steps to revive growth,
with governments globally cutting taxes and bailing out banks
or even industrial sectors, in addition to their spending
plans.
                                
 Central banks are cutting rates aggressively in a bid to
revive growth. The Bank of England on Thursday was expected to
lower already record low interest rates by at least another 50
basis points to 1 percent. [ID:nL4635617]
                                
 The European Central Bank, however, is expected to keep its
rates on hold for now at 2 percent after four months of cuts.
[ID:nL4667657]
                                
 The euro was little changed at $1.2844 <EUR=> after
slumping a day earlier when Fitch became the second credit
ratings agency within two months to downgrade Russia's ratings.
                                
 Against the Japanese currency, the euro dipped 0.2 percent
to 114.56 yen <EURJPY=R>, while the dollar eased 0.2 percent to
89.22 yen <JPY=>.
                                
 Sterling dipped 0.4 percent to $1.4442 <GBP=D4>.
                                
 Oil prices <.CLc1> were flat at $40.36 a barrel, after
starting Asian trade with falls sparked by data on Wednesday
showing a rise in U.S. crude inventories.
                                
 Gold <XAU=> traded range-bound at $904.30, steadying after
rising on safe-haven buying the previous day. Analysts at
Goldman Sachs said gold's safe-haven appeal remained intact,
with prices seen rising to $1,000 an ounce in the next three
months. [ID:nSP46226]
                                
 Elsewhere, benchmark 10-year yields for Japanese government
bonds fell 2 basis points to 1.325 percent <JP10YTN=JBTC>,
after hitting a high of 1.350 percent on Wednesday, the highest
since mid-December.
                                
 March futures rose 0.10 point to 138.45 <2JGBv1>,
rebounding from a 2 1/2-month low of 138.28 touched the
previous day.
 (Additional reporting by Jungyoung Park in Seoul; Editing by
Anshuman Daga)