* Asia ex-Japan positive but China, Japan fall
* Euro jumps on short-covering
* U.S. cold snap supports oil
* Metals boosted by weaker dollar
(Updates prices)
By Alex Richardson
SINGAPORE, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Shares in Japan and China
eased on Tuesday as concerns that further Chinese monetary
tightening will cool the engine of world economic growth
overshadowed Japanese data that pointed to improving demand.
The euro spiked against the dollar, although market
players attributed its strength to technical factors in light
holiday trade, and oil edged up near a 26-month high as a snow
storm in the U.S. northeast underpinned demand expectations.
Data from Japan showed factory output rose for the first
time in six months in November and a survey of manufacturers
revealed they expected to boost production in the coming
months to meet firm demand from the rest of Asia.
"Data in recent weeks have been supportive of the stocks
and commodity markets globally," said David Cohen, director of
Asian economic forecasting at Action Economics.
"The U.S. will avoid a double-dip. The Asian region
including Japan looks a little bit better, with its industrial
production finally showing an increase."
But despite some positive signs on the outlook, investors
entering thin year-end trading remained concerned about
Chinese monetary policy tightening in the months ahead.
The timing of China's Christmas Day interest rate rise may
have surprised but the move itself did not, with Chinese
leaders pledged to make fighting inflation a priority in 2011.
World shares mostly fell on Monday in response to the
move, as investors fretted that tighter monetary policy would
moderate the growth that many are relying on to support the
global economic recovery.
On Tuesday, MSCI's broadest index of Asia shares outside
Japan , which is up nearly 13 percent for the
year, rose 0.1 percent.
But Shanghai shares fell 1 percent, after a 2
percent drop the previous day, and Tokyo's Nikkei shed
0.6 percent.
"Investors locked in profits as Shanghai shares fell in
late trade yesterday," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general
manager at Daiwa Capital Markets. "They didn't want to buy
further as uncertainty remained for Chinese shares."
With Australian markets closed for a holiday the main
stock gains in Asia were in South Korea, where the benchmark
index rose 0.6 percent, led by a 1.7 percent rise for
Samsung Electronics .
U.S. stocks finished little moved on Monday, with the Dow
Jones industrial average down 0.2 percent but the
Nasdaq Composite 0.1 percent firmer.
EURO JUMPS
The euro rose sharply as bears who had been betting on
further weakness due to worries about the continent's
sovereign debt crisis were forced to abandon their positions.
The beleaguered single currency jumped to around $1.3250
after stop-loss orders were triggered at key chart positions
around $1.32, and was later trading at $1.3235.
"Essentially the euro is rising on short-covering," said
Estuko Yamashita, chief economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking
Corp in Japan.
"I think we'll need to see the market a bit more to see
how investors plan to allocate their money after Christmas and
in the new year."
The euro has been under pressure due to concerns that more
debt-soaked euro zone nations such as Portugal and Spain will
be forced to join Greece and Ireland in needing a bailout to
finance their burgeoning debt.
Broad weakness in the dollar helped commodities, which are
mostly priced in the U.S. currency and so become cheaper for
international investors when it falls.
U.S. copper futures <HGc4> rallied more than half a
percent to a record high of 430.75 cents per lb and Shanghai
copper <SCFc3> rose 0.6 percent. Spot gold rose to $1,391.50
an ounce.
Oil rose 14 cents to $91.14 a barrel, as blizzards brought
knee-deep snow to the northeastern United States, the world's
biggest market for heating oil.
(Editing by Kazunori Takada)
