* Compromise on U.S. plan brings little cheer to Asia
* Gold hangs near 6-1/2-month high, yen climbs
* Government bonds remain firm, JGBs rally
(Repeats to additional subscribers)
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Most Asian stock markets slid
on Thursday while the yen strengthened, with solace that U.S.
lawmakers had compromised on a $789 billion stimulus bill
overshadowed by uncertainty about the global outlook.
Australian shares posted solid gains, with bank stocks
rebounding and some builders benefitting from not-so-dire
quarterly results.
Wall Street added small gains on the view that the quicker
Washington could inject money into the economy, which is
gasping in a deep recession, the better. []
However, oil's steady decline below $40 a barrel and gold's
march to a 6-1/2-month high overnight both reflected
expectations that a recovery from such a massive shock to the
global economy was not around the corner.
Stocks in the energy and materials sectors were among the
biggest losers while financials were weak for a second day
running on disappointment that a U.S. plan to fix the banking
industry lacked specifics.
"The bank plan really just seemed as if it was putting
things off rather than dealing with them, and now markets are
waiting for the economic stimulus plan to be enacted, so it's
hard to bid the market higher," said Yutaka Miura, chief
technical analyst at Shinko Securities in Tokyo.
Equities in Japan were quick to fall, with the Nikkei share
average <> tumbling 2.3 percent as traders returned from a
public holiday. Exporters like Canon <7751.T> and Toyota
<7203.T> were hurt by strength in the yen, which underlined a
continued retreat to safety in global markets.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index <> slipped 2.06 percent,
with shares of Chinese lenders like Industrial & Commercial
Bank of China <1398.HK> among the biggest drags.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks excluding Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> broke a 2-day losing streak, posting modest
early gains of 0.5 percent based on strength in the Australian
market.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 <> gained 2.2 percent in
morning trade, with banks making gains on the stimulus plan
compromise reached by U.S lawmakers.
The yen and gold have so far been the biggest beneficiaries
of the deflated hopes of investors who had wanted a much
clearer plan this week from the U.S. Treasury on how to
segregate and price highly illiquid assets on the balance
sheets of banks.
GOLD STEADY
Gold in the spot market <XAU=> was steady at $936.45 an
ounce after surging to the highest since July 2008, at $953.30
overnight.
The precious metal has gained precisely because it has no
industrial use in a global economy that has slowed rapidly, as
well as remaining a popular hedge against future inflation, as
central banks try to flood the financial system with cash.
The yen rose against major currencies as investors avoided
risk as Japanese stock prices fell on disappointment over the
financial rescue plans in the United States. The U.S. dollar
fell 0.3 percent to 90.12 yen <JPY=>, while the euro was down
0.2 percent to 116.38 yen <EURJPY=>.
"Without details on the U.S. bank bailout plan, currency
market players found it difficult to judge how effective it
would be. So they are watching how stockmarkets are accessing
financial plans," said Kwang-ja Kim, deputy general manager at
Shinsei Bank in Tokyo.
Japanese government bonds played catch up after a holiday
and an overnight rise in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year bond
future <2JGBv1> jumped 0.79 point to 139.21, while in the cash
market the 10-year yield slipped 4.5 basis points to 1.26
percent <JP10YTN=JBTC>.
The benchmark yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note
<US10YT=RR> recovered 1 basis point to 2.79 percent after
tumbling 5 basis points on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies and Kaori Kaneko in
TOKYO; Editing by Valerie Lee)
