* Dollar steady below one-month high, eyes on Fed
* Asian stocks gain after several days' fall, metals help
* Oil inches lower after Tuesday surge; gold eases
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The dollar steadied below a
one-month high against a basket of currencies on Wednesday,
while Asian stocks edged higher in muted trade ahead of a
policy announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve that kept
investors wary.
Oil fell for the first time in three days after a 2 percent
surge on Tuesday and gold eased after hitting a record high,
but the afterglow helped boost resource-linked stocks around
Asia, with metals shares helping lead Chinese stocks to a
nearly three-month intraday high.
European stock futures pointed up, while U.S. stock futures
rose.
Most investors turned their attention to upcoming policy
statements from the Fed, European Central Bank and the Bank of
England.
The U.S. central bank, which ends its two-day meeting on
Wednesday. it is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, but
some in the market wonder if it might drop or alter its pledge
to keep rates low for an "extended period". []
"The biggest focus regarding the result of the FOMC meeting
is the time frame for the U.S. low interest rate policy," said
Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments.
"Eyes are on whether and how the word 'extended' will be
used in the statement. Higher rates would be generally negative
for stocks."
But several traders and analysts said they doubted the Fed
statement would show it materially altering its stance.
The dollar lost 0.2 percent to 76.233 against a basket of
currencies <.DXY> after climbing as far as 76.817, its highest
since early October, while the Aussie <AUD=> fell after
Australia's September retail sales were much weaker than
expected and dampened hopes for a December rate hike.
[]
The dollar rose 0.2 percent on the yen at 90.48 yen <JPY=>.
STOCKS RISE
Stock markets gained, although rises were muted for the
most part as investors awaited clues to the timing of eventual
shifts in central banks' policies. But Seoul shares climbed 1.9
percent, led by Korea Exchange Bank <004940.KS> on strong
results.
Australian shares <> briefly turned negative as the
weak retail sales data hit shares of supermarket chains but
subsequently closed up 0.2 percent, buoyed by banks and miners.
Hong Kong shares <> rebounded from a two-day fall on
bargain-hunting, while China's key stock index rose 0.3 percent
by 0651 GMT.
A top executive at Fortis Investments said his company is
bullish on equities and high yield bonds despite significant
rallies in both asset classes as it sees a continued recovery
in the global economy amid a low interest rate environment.
[]
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 1.6 percent, its second rise over the past
eight sessions.
Japan's Nikkei closed up 0.4 percent with retailer Fast
Retailing <9983.T> climbing 4.4 percent after sales at its
Uniqlo casual-clothing chain in Japan surged 35.7 percent in
October from a year earlier. []
EYES ON BANK MEETINGS
But overall share gains were limited in the wake of a mixed
performance by U.S. markets.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose slightly on Tuesday as news of
a major railroad acquisition helped sentiment, but the Dow
edged lower on caution ahead of the FOMC meeting.
Markets are also holding their breath ahead of European
bank meetings. The European Central Bank and the Bank of
England are expected to keep rates unchanged on Thursday.
Gold eased slightly as investors took profits a day after
it hit record highs, though sentiment remained good on
bullion's growing status as a destination for diversifying
official reserves.
Spot gold <XAU=> was hovering below New York's notional
close of $1,084.50. On Tuesday, spot gold hit an all-time high
of $1,087.45. []
U.S. crude oil futures fell for the first time in three
days on Wednesday, inching down towards $79 a barrel after
industry data showed a larger than expected build in U.S.
gasoline inventories and a surprise build in distillate
supplies.
NYMEX crude for December delivery <CLc1> lost 13 cents to
$79.47 a barrel by 0210 GMT, after settling up $1.47 at $79.60
on Tuesday.
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi in TOKYO, Jun Ebias and
Claire Zhang in HONG KONG/SHANGHAI; Editing by Kazunori
Takada)
