* Sharp, Samsung results reflect consumer weakness
* Markets mostly in trading ranges before Fed
* Dollar down vs yen, up vs euro in fine balance
* AIA shares jump 17 pct in Hong Kong debut
(Updates with European shares opening, details)
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Japan on Friday led Asian
stocks lower on signs of sluggish consumer electronics demand,
while the bruised dollar steadied ahead of U.S. economic data
that could affect hotly debated views on next week's Federal
Reserve meeting.
European shares fell 0.2 percent <> with London's
FTSE 100 index <> dropping 0.1 percent and German's DAX
<> easing 0.2 percent. U.S. stock index futures
<SPc1><NDc1><DJc1> were down about 0.3 percent.
Many asset markets have hardly moved this week, but the
modest price action belies the tense jostling for positioning
ahead of a storm of events and economic data next week that
could cause volatility to spike and determine investors'
tolerance of risk, including potential new bond purchases by
the Fed.
U.S. gross domestic data for the third quarter is due later
in the day, though it will probably be viewed as an indicator
of just how much QE2, what the market has dubbed a new Fed
money-printing program, will be -- a question that has consumed
traders and investors since September.
GDP growth is expected to come in at 2 percent on an
annualised basis, a Reuters poll showed.
"While such acceleration of growth would make QE2 seem less
urgent on the surface, core PCE price data will be more
important, and if it shows a slowdown, the market will likely
increase expectations of the amount of Treasuries the Fed will
buy," Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior strategist with Credit Agricole
CIB in Hong Kong, said in a note.
SHARP DECLINES
Until the outcome of the Fed meeting, investors were
finding fewer reasons to hold on to equities.
Japan's Nikkei share average <> fell 1.8 percent to a
1-month low as the yen strengthened broadly and equity futures
were sold aggressively on a break of key chart levels.
Electronics makers were under fire after Sharp Corp
<6753.T>, whose shares were down 5.8 percent, cut its full-year
earnings forecast on reduced demand for flat-screen
televisions.
A drop in demand for consumer electronics also stung
Samsung Electronics Co <005930.KS>, which saw its stock fall
2.5 percent after the world's top producer of TVs and flat
screens said a supply glut will weigh on memory chip prices and
LCD prices will keep falling in coming months. []
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan slipped
0.7 percent <.MIAPJ0000PUS>, though remained in a narrow range
carved out this month.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.9 percent <>,
weighed down the most by China Life <2628.HK> after
disappointing quarterly results pulled down other insurers.
Bucking the trend, AIA Group Ltd <1299.HK> shares rocketed
17 percent in an eye-opening market debut on Friday following
its record Hong Kong initial public offering last week,
accounting for about 40 percent of the day's turnover in Hong
Kong. []
A common reason cited by electronics exporters for their
grim outlooks is domestic currency appreciation, a subject that
will dominate a Group of 20 leaders meeting next month.
YEN GAINS
The dollar fell 0.4 percent against the yen <JPY=> to 80.65
yen, the result mostly of spillover from Japanese currency
strength against other currencies. It was getting closer to an
all-time low of 79.75 yen.
The euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.3895 <EUR=> after a 1.2
percent jump overnight. The euro had trouble breaking above a
technical obstacle around $1.3950, leading some traders to take
profits.
The dollar index <=USD>, a measure of the dollar's
performance against a basket of six other major currencies, was
up 0.2 percent on the day and basically flat on the week.
The index is down 6.3 percent since September, when
expectations grew the Fed would embark on a path to
quantitative easing, basically printing money to buy assets and
flood the financial system with cash.
In a sign of increasing caution among investors ahead of
early November events -- including congressional U.S.
elections, a Federal Reserve policy meeting and a G20 summit --
money market funds absorbed a 14-week high of $20.2 billion of
new cash in the week ended Oct. 27, EPFR Global said in a note.
Commodities prices, which have been moving sharply in the
opposite direction of the dollar for the past few months, were
generally under pressure as the dollar held its ground.
Gold was down 0.1 percent to $1,341.66 on ounce <XAU=>,
having now slid 2 percent since hitting a record high two weeks
ago.
Oil futures were down 0.5 percent to $81.75 a barrel
<CLc1>, still up $10 since September.
"We still think the U.S. dollar is going to come under
severe pressure, so we'll see strengthening commodities prices
and that should help our miners," said Patersons Securities
dealer Martin Angel in Australia.
(Additional reporting by Victoria Thieberger in MELBOURNE)
(Editing by Miral Fahmy)
