* Asia stocks fall 1.4 pct to 2-wk low but prove resilient
* Nikkei hit by poor machinery data, hits 6-wk low
* Govt bonds extend rally, 10-yr JGB yield hits 3-1/2-mth
low
By Eric Burroughs
HONG KONG, July 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
and oil prices hit six-week lows on Wednesday as investors
pulled funds out of bets on the global economy's recovery and
favoured safe havens, such as the U.S. dollar and government
bonds.
Comments that a second U.S. stimulus package may be
necessary coupled with heavy U.S. job losses have taken the
wind out of a rally in global stocks and commodities, tempering
some of the optimism about how quickly growth will return.
"Talk of more stimulus spending is making investors
nervous," said Kim Seong-joo, an analyst at Daewoo Securities
in Seoul.
Market players were also taking profits and striking a
cautious stance before a slew of quarterly corporate earnings
announcements around the world, which will be scanned for
comments on the demand outlook.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> dropped 1.4 percent to hit a two-week low, with
energy and financial shares falling the most. The MSCI index of
world shares <.MIWD00000PUS> shed 0.6 percent to a seven-week
low.
On Tuesday the U.S. S&P 500 <.SPX> fell 2 percent to hit a
seven-week low.
But Asian stock indexes proved resilient, with South
Korea's KOSPI holding near a nine-month intraday peak and the
Shanghai Composite near a 13-month peak, as solid Chinese
growth has helped limit the fallout on some parts of the
region.
Highlighting the diverging performance between emerging
Asian stock markets and global developed markets, the MSCI
benchmark for Asia excluding Japan is still up 27 percent so
far this year compared with a 3.4 precent rise in world stocks.
Japan's Nikkei <> was the hardest hit, falling 1.8
percent and down for a sixth straight trading day.
Shares of machinery makers such as Komatsu <6301.T> dropped
after data showed new orders posted a surprising fall in May as
demand from abroad faltered for a second straight month.
[]
Economists at Deutsche Bank called the Japanese machinery
figures a "significant negative surprise" and said they pointed
to an continued glut in manufacturing capacity, suggesting that
business spending would take a while longer to recover.
The yen pushed higher as investors reversed positions in
higher-yielding currencies, which tend to benefit from rising
stocks and commodities. The low-yielding yen is often used as a
cheap source of funds to buy higher-yielding currencies in
carry trades.
The dollar dipped 0.2 percent to 94.60 yen <JPY=> and
touched a five-week low of 94.52 yen. The euro shed 0.3 percent
to 131.50 yen <EURJPY=R> and struck a six-week low.
The dollar index, a gauge of its performance against six
major currencies, was steady at 80.747 <.DXY> having edged up
as investors shed emerging market and other currencies for the
greenback.
Government bonds extended their rally. The benchmark
10-year Japanese yield <JP10YTN=JBTC> fell 2 basis points to
1.285 percent, a 3-1/2-month low and down 27.5 basis points in
the past month as Japanese banks have shovelled funds into
safe-haven debt.
Oil prices were down 63 cents a barrel to $62.30 <CLc1> and
have shed more than $11 in a little more than a week. Gold was
little changed at $923.35 an ounce <XAU=>.
(Additional reporting by Rhee So-eui in Seoul)
(Editing by Kazunori Takada)
