By Nina Mehra
HONG KONG, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Most Asian shares edged up on
Tuesday following recent falls, with oil rebounding from a
nearly 3 percent tumble the prior day, but investor worries
about a U.S. recession persisted with Japan's Nikkei at an
18-month low.
The dollar steadied from last week's decline, while the
price of gold was firm but remained below a recent record.
"Usually if the market falls this much you can expect a
rebound, but the fact that we don't have this yet shows just
how tough things really are," said Norihito Fujito, general
manager of the investment research and information division at
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
"Now the whole issue of the U.S economy is starting to
shift from a fear of recession to recession itself, and this is
depressing the market."
MSCI's measure of Asia Pacific stock excluding Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 0.7 percent by 0304 GMT after hitting a
two-week low in the previous session.
The index has dropped 3 percent this year, weighed down by
data that raised investor fears of a U.S. recession, including
a weak employment report out last Friday.
But some analysts played down the wider impact of a U.S.
slowdown, pointing to strong growth elsewhere, especially Asia.
"When you look around the world, even if the U.S. slows,
there's a lot of people who can pick up the baton," said
Michael Heffernan, Austock Stockbroking senior client adviser.
South Korea <> crept up 0.1 percent, after falling to
a six-week low on Monday, with Hyundai Motor <005380.KS> up 1.6
percent on expectations for its new premium car model and after
the won currency <KRW=> has recently slid against the dollar.
Taiwan stocks gained 1 percent reversing a 4 percent tumble
in the previous session, as financial shares jumped on media
reports that financial holding companies may soon be permitted
to invest in China-based banks.
But Tokyo shares <> fell 0.3 percent -- down more than
900 points since the start of the year.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJ0> gave up
earlier gains to fall 0.4 percent, dragged lower by the big
mining stocks such as BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> on worries about
slowing global demand.
OIL EDGES UP
The price of oil -- which hit a record above $100 a barrel
just last week -- edged higher in Asian trade after ending down
almost $3 overnight on concerns about the health of the economy
in the United States and and unseasonably warm weather there.
U.S crude futures <CLc1> were quoted at $95.55, while Brent
Crude was at $94.89.
Prices of commodities from energy to grains and metals have
come under pressure as investors take profits on last week's
record highs.
The dollar steadied against the yen at 109.25 yen <JPY=>,
getting some respite after hitting a six-week low last week,
with some traders viewing the currency as oversold.
Traders also trimmed bets against the dollar on speculation
that U.S. inflation may prevent aggressive interest rate cuts.
Spot gold <XAU=> was little changed at $860.70/861.50 an
ounce, drifting further away from recent record levels on a
rebound in the dollar and falls in oil prices, although
analysts said sentiment was still positive.
