* Asia stocks mixed, MSCI Asia ex-Japan dips 0.3 pct
* Oil retreat drags down energy shares
* Activity quiet as Q2 draws to close
* Dollar inches up after slide, China piles on pressure
By Eric Burroughs
HONG KONG, June 29 (Reuters) - Asian stock markets were
mixed on Monday as many investors stuck to the sidelines as the
second quarter winds down, while the dollar recovered from a
slide on worries about the push by major emerging countries for
a reserve currency alternative.
A drop in oil prices pulled down energy-related shares,
with Japan's Nippon Oil <5001.T> losing nearly 2 percent. Crude
oil lost 51 cents a barrel to $68.65 <CLc1> on easing tensions
in major exporter Nigeria.
Asian shares outside Japan have surged 32 percent in the
second quarter, which would be the best quarterly gain in 16
years, as investors embraced the region on hopes it would
emerge more quickly from the deepest global recession in
decades.
World stocks have mostly shuffled sideways in the past few
weeks as investors have questioned how quickly the global
economy will return to growth, giving a boost to battered
government bonds.
Asian manufacturers had cranked up production to increase
inventories after having slashed them too sharply at the end of
last year, but doubts remain about whether consumer and
business demand will improve enough to make growth sustainable.
Japanese economic figures highlighted this trend.
Industrial output jumped a hefty 5.9 percent in May for a third
straight month of growth, but forecasts showed that factories
expected the recovery to taper off in coming months.
[]
"It is a sign of the unusual nature of the current cycle
that the strongest rise in output on record can still be viewed
as a moderate disappointment," said Richard Jerram, chief Japan
economist at Macquarie Securities in Tokyo.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> slipped 0.3 percent in light trade after having
posted a 2.3 percent rise last week. The drop tracked a 0.2
percent dip in the U.S. S&P 500 <.SPX> on Friday.
The MSCI benchmark for Asia is up about 31 percent so far
this year, outpacing the 7.4 percent increase in world stocks
<.MIWD00000PUS> and the 1.7 percent rise in the S&P 500.
Japan's Nikkei average <> edged up 0.4 percent, with
shares of Nippon Electric Glass <5214.T> climbing 1 percent
after the maker of LCD glass lifted its estimated earnings for
the April-June quarter to double the top of its previous
forecast range.
The dollar inched higher after being hit on Friday when
China's central bank renewed calls for a super-sovereign
currency to reduce the U.S. dollar's global domination, saying
it was a serious defect in the international system for one
currency to tower over all others.
On the sidelines of a meeting of central bankers over the
weekend, China and Brazil said they were discussing a currency
arrangement to allow exports and importers to settle deals in
local currencies, thereby avoiding the dollar. []
The dollar index, a gauge of its performance against six
major currencies, rose 0.3 percent to 80.151 <.DXY>, near a
two-week low struck on Friday. The euro retreated 0.3 percent
to $1.4025 <EUR=>, while the dollar was up 0.2 percent at 95.50
yen <JPY=>.
Government bonds pushed higher, helped in part by the rally
in U.S. Treasuries last week after a record $104 billion of
debt was sold without causing trouble for dealers.
Foreign central banks were believed to have been hefty
buyers at each of the three auctions via indirect bids.
The five-year Japanese government bond yield dipped a basis
point to 0.710 percent <JP5YTN=JBTC>, matching a three-month
low.
A sale of 10-year JGBs later in the week is expected to be
a key test of demand as the market has started to absorb bigger
monthly issues that are funding the Japanese government's
stimulus spending.
(Editing by Kazunori Takada)
