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* China trade rebound pushes Asian stocks to 17-mth high
* Dollar extends losses on weak U.S. jobs report
* Gold surges to 5-wk high, oil tops $83
* European shares set to open higher
By Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Asian stocks hit a 17-month
high on Monday as a strong rebound in China's exports raised
investor optimism about Asia's economies while the dollar
suffered its biggest loss in six weeks after poor U.S. jobs
data.
European shares were expected to gain, financial
spreadbetters said, as the dollar's weakness pushed the euro
<EUR=> to a three-week high. U.S. stock futures <SPc1> were up
0.4 percent.
China's exports and imports last month blew past
expectations, with exports surging 17.7 percent from a year
earlier to break 13 months of declines. [] The
trade data, released on Sunday, triggered a shift into Asian
assets as investors shrugged off Friday's disappointing U.S.
non-farm payrolls data.
Gold pushed up to a five-week high at $1,157.65 an ounce at
one point as the data showed a sharp rise in China's
commodities imports and sent the Australian dollar <AUD=> to a
26-month peak against the euro <EUR=>.
Chia-Liang Lian, a senior vice president at bond fund
PIMCO, said Asia's fundamentals made it highly attractive.
"We have seen how Asia has navigated successfully through a
tough year with a score card that is nothing short of
spectacular," Lian told Reuters in an interview.
[]
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> hit its highest level since July 2008, gaining
1.2 percent. The Thomson Reuters index of Asian shares
<.TRXFLDAXPU> was 0.8 percent higher.
Japanese financial markets were closed for a public
holiday.
Australia's leading share index <> climbed 0.8 percent
to a 15-month high as the China data lifted resource companies
that benefit from Chinese demand.
"People are gradually getting more comfortable with the
recovery story. You have seen some reasonably good data out of
China, and there have been no disasters, no more Dubais," said
Greg Goodsell, equity strategist at RBS Australia.
The Australian dollar soared to its highest in more than
two years against the euro and to a five-week high against the
dollar <AUD=>.
OIL TOPS $83
Resource-related shares gained in Hong Kong, including
Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) <2600.HK> <601600.SS>, the
country's top aluminum company, which surged 5 percent, and
Jiangxi Copper <0358.HK><600362.SS>, China's top metals
producer, which rose more than 3 percent.
Chinese brokerage shares gained in Shanghai after news late
last week that Beijing had decided to allow stock index futures
and margin trading. []
The dollar, however, extended losses stemming from the jobs
report, which dampened expectations of an early rise in U.S.
interest rates.
A member of the U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy
committee, James Bullard, said on Monday that rates may remain
low for quite some time, reiterating the central bank's
long-standing position. []
The dollar dropped 0.5 percent against a basket of
currencies <.DXY> and was quoted at a three-week low at around
$1.4533 against the euro <EUR=>.
The U.S. economy shed 85,000 jobs in December, confounding
expectations that the job market was finally stabilising.
Still, analysts argued the outcome was consistent with economic
recovery because the pace of job losses had dropped sharply
since the height of recession. []
Oil <CLc1> jumped more than 1 percent, topping $83 a
barrel, on the back of the weak dollar, extremely cold weather
in the northern hemisphere and a surge in China's crude oil
imports last month.
China's export rebound fuelled expectations China could
soon let the yuan start rising again <CNY=CFXS> and helped push
Asian currencies higher as a stronger yuan would benefit
pricing for fellow Asian exporters.
The high-yielding Indonesian rupiah <IDR=> jumped 1 percent
to 9,120 to the dollar, despite suspected intervention by the
central bank. It has gained 3.3 percent so far this year as
investors have sought out higher-yielding assets.
South Korean authorities were also seen intervening to curb
the won <KRW=> which touched a 15-month high of 1,117.5 to the
dollar.
PIMCO's Lian said Asian currencies were still undervalued
on a trade-weighted basis and cited the yuan, the won and the
Singapore dollar <SGD=> among his top currency picks. He also
likes Indonesian debt which offers better yield than other
Asian debt.
(Additional reporting by Saikat Chatterjee in HONG KONG and
Victoria Thieberger in MELBOURNE; Editing by Jan Dahinten)
(susan.fenton@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6367; Reuters
Messaging: susan.fenton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
