* Oil rises on Nigeria strike, Israeli-Iran tensions
* Asian share markets focus on slowing U.S. growth,
inflation
* Fed meeting awaited; interest rates seen unchanged
By Rafael Nam
HONG KONG, June 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices extended gains on
Tuesday amid worries over supply disruptions in Nigeria and
tensions in the Middle East, while Asian stocks struck new
multi-month lows on concerns about a weakening U.S. economy.
Surging energy costs in Asia are coming amid signs of
slowing global economic growth, a bad omen for a region that
relies on exports to help fuel profits.
United Parcel Service Inc <UPS.N>, the world's largest
package delivery company, warned on Monday that second-quarter
earnings would be below expectations due to high fuel prices
and a sluggish U.S. economy. []
Trading was thin, with the dollar and regional bonds steady
as investors await the outcome of a two-day meeting by the U.S.
Federal Reserve set to conclude on Wednesday, and that is
widely expected to result in no change to interest rates.
"Investors are holding back ahead of the U.S. (Federal Open
Market Committee) interest rate meeting, as they are keen on
hearing the Fed's comments on the economy and any hints about
its future stance," said Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at
Hyundai Securities.
"What the market needs (for a rebound) is some sort of
positive outlook from the Fed, but we'll see about that."
The MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> edged down 0.3 percent, but at one point hit
its lowest since late March.
The index has fallen some 17 percent so far this year,
reflecting investor unease about inflation and the global
economy, as well as persistent concerns about more write-downs
among financial firms.
Central banks around the region, from China to Vietnam are
being forced to tighten monetary policy, as they grapple with
surging energy and food costs, bringing an end to several years
of double-digit growth in the region's bourses.
Tokyo's Nikkei average <> was flat. Markets in
Australia <>, South Korea <>, Hong Kong <>,
Shanghai <>, Taiwan <>, and Singapore <.FTSTI> were
down less than 1 percent each.
Among the big movers in the region, shares in Baoshan Iron
and Steel (Baosteel) <600019.SS> fell as much as 10 percent
after it agreed on the highest price hike in at least a decade
for iron ore term contracts with Rio Tinto <RIO.AX> <RIO.L>.
[]
But the Australia-listed shares of the mining giant Rio
Tinto gained 1.4 percent.
In South Korea, shares of Korea Exchange Bank <004940.KS>
fell 1.4 percent ahead of a high court ruling later in the day
on alleged stock manipulation by U.S. private equity firm Lone
Star, the lender's majority shareholder.
OIL GAINS
U.S. crude futures prices <CLc1> rose for a third
consecutive session, up 10 cents at $136.84 a barrel as of 0315
GMT, after already gaining more than $1 on Monday.
Saudi Arabia's recent pledge to increase output has been
offset by a limited strike by Nigeria's senior oil workers at
Chevron, raising concerns that supply from the oil producing
nation could be curtailed.
On top of that, Iran and Israel have engaged in an
escalating exchange of sharp words this month, adding to
concerns over the supply of oil.
Rising energy prices come as the Federal Reserve is set to
meet this week. The dollar steadied on Tuesday at 107.85 yen
<JPY=>, holding below a four-month high of 108.59 yen hit last
week, as investors waited for further clues about the direction
of U.S. interest rates.
The euro was also little changed at $1.5523 <EUR=>.
The region's government bonds were also largely flat ahead
of the Fed. Japan's September 10-year futures <2JGBv1> were up
0.18 point at 134.18 by late morning.
