* Asian shares lose grip on gains, though Nikkei up
* Bank shares weigh while techs helped by RIM, Oracle
* Dollar holds firm near 3-month highs on euro
(Repeats to more subscribers)
By Charlotte Cooper
TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Asian share markets struggled to
hold early gains on Monday, with bank shares pressuring some
lower even as tech stocks gained, while the dollar held steady
on the yen and hovered near a three-month high on the euro.
In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC-40 <> were expected to open as
much as 0.7 percent up, reassured by export data out of Japan,
which rose the most in seven years last month. []
Shares in Hong Kong <> and Shanghai <> slid as
financial and property stocks fell on concern China would take
steps to cool the property market, while banks such as HSBC
<0005.HK> eased on worries they made need to make provision
against exposure to debt in Dubai.
Debt-ridden conglomerate Dubai World is expected on Monday
to ask key creditors for more time to pay off loans.
[]
Seoul shares ended 0.17 percent lower, with banks including
KB Financial Group <105560.KS> weighing but gains in technology
exporters such as LG Electronics <066570.KS> lending support.
"Banks are under pressure amid recent news flows pointing
to a tighter regulatory environment, potentially worsening net
interest margins," said Kwak Joong-bo, a market analyst at Hana
Daetoo Securities.
Banks face having to set aside more funds or raise fresh
capital in as little as three years, according to proposals by
a global regulatory body that could change the way they do
business. []
The MSCI index of Asian stocks excluding Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> fell 0.5 percent.
Bucking the trend were Japan and Taiwan, which both
finished higher, while
The Nikkei average <> closed up 0.4 percent as stocks
such as chip-tester maker Advantest Corp <6857.T> gained.
"Investors welcomed solid earnings results from Oracle and
(BlackBerry maker) Research in Motion over the weekend, as well
as a weaker yen," said Norihiro Fujito, general manager of
investment research at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities in Tokyo.
"But trading volume is becoming thin as the year-end draws
near and the market could easily turn south if the yen
strengthens again."
Upbeat results from Oracle <ORCL.O> and Research In Motion
<RIM.TO> <RIMM.O> helped boost the Nasdaq <> on Friday,
which ended up 1.45 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> closed up 0.20
percent and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 0.58
percent. []
Australian stocks slipped 0.3 percent <> but top
airline Qantas Airways Ltd <QAN.AX> jumped after flagging a
return to profit.
Banking shares were mostly lower after leading a rise of
nearly 47 percent in the benchmark share index from a five-year
low reached in early March.
DOLLAR HOLDS PATTERN
The dollar hovered near its highest point in more than
three months against the euro as traders anticipated more
year-end dollar short-covering until the Christmas break later
this week.
A brighter outlook for the U.S. economy after stronger
figures on the job market and retail sales earlier this month
has helped the dollar pull back from a long-running downtrend.
"The dollar may extend gains a little more as momentum
buyers could chase the dollar up while it stays in an uptrend,"
said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief FX strategist for Barclays
Capital in Japan.
The euro was steady at $1.4344 <EUR=> after dipping to
$1.4262 on Friday, its lowest since early September. The dollar
was unchanged at 90.40 yen, after touching its strongest level
for six weeks on Friday.
U.S. crude futures edged down, paring Friday's 1 percent
rise after news Iranian troops had partly withdrawn from a
disputed oil area claimed by both Tehran and Baghdad, easing
tensions between two major crude exporters. NYMEX crude for
January delivery <CLc1> was down 13 cents at $73.23 a barrel.
U.S Treasury debt prices were steady while Japan's
five-year government bond yield <JP5YTN=JBTC> fell to a
four-year low, following comments last week by the Bank of
Japan that it would not tolerate deflation.
(Additional reporting by Jungyoun Park in Seoul, Denny Thomas
in Sydney; Editing by Kazunori Takada)
