* USD still under pressure after soft jobs data, G7 meeting
* Asian stocks steady near 3-week lows, await Q3 earnings
* Caution on commodities
By Lincoln Feast
SINGAPORE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The dollar fell and Asian
stocks steadied near three-week lows on Monday after
weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data heightened investor caution
ahead of the third-quarter corporate results season.
Crude oil prices <CLc1> held below $70 a barrel, and copper
prices languished near two-month lows as the weak data showed
the pace and scope of economic recovery remained uncertain.
U.S. employers cut 263,000 jobs in September, more than in
August and the 21st straight monthly decline, Labour Department
data on Friday showed. []
Investors, banking on a solid bounce from the world's worst
economic crisis since the Great Depression, had pushed MSCI's
All Country World index <.MIWD00000PUS> to a 12-month high
earlier this month, up as much as 70 percent from its March
low.
"While the (U.S. jobs) data was bad and optimism about the
U.S. economy may have receded, I do not think market players
think that this means that the outlook for the U.S. economy is
ruined," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, supervisor at Okasan
Securities' investment strategy department in Japan.
"I think it just means market sentiment has returned to
neutral for the time being," Ishiguro added.
Tokyo's Nikkei average <> was barely above breakeven,
while MSCI's index of stocks elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific
<.MSCIAPJ> rose 0.2 percent by 0300 GMT.
Investors were also wary ahead of the start of the
third-quarter corporate earnings season, which kicks off in the
United States this week. Cost cutting helped second-quarter
results largely beat expectations, but analysts are now looking
for more sustainable signs of improving revenues.
DOLLAR SOFT
With growing jobless numbers putting further pressure on
consumer spending, U.S. interest rates were expected to remain
low for the foreseeable future, weighing on the U.S. dollar.
In contrast, the Australian dollar <AUD=> rose ahead of a
meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday after two
influential columnists wrote that there was a real chance of an
interest rate rise this week, sooner than many have been
expecting. []
The Aussie <AUD=D4> traded around $0.8740, recouping most
of Friday's sharp losses.
The dollar index <.DXY>, a measure of its performance
against six major currencies, fell 0.3 percent, while the euro
climbed to $1.4634 <EUR=> after ending at around $1.4575 on
Friday.
The greenback, down 14 percent from its March high, got no
fresh support from the Group of Seven finance ministers and
central bankers. After a weekend meeting in Istanbul, they
broke no new ground on currencies, urging China to strengthen
the yuan to help correct global imbalances and saying too much
foreign exchange volatility tended to threaten economic
stability. []
Analysts said it potentially left the dollar open to
further weakness.
"It was the usual mantra about FX volatility and disorderly
movements in exchange rates which we've seen time and time
again," said Mitul Kotecha, global head of FX strategy at
Calyon in Hong Kong.
CAUTION ON COMMODITIES
Commodity markets tracked equities, as they have for much
of the year.
"The market is cautious after the poor U.S. jobs data on
Friday. But the overall trend of an economic recovery hasn't
changed and I think investors are using such
weaker-than-expected data as an opportunity to take profits,"
said Ben Westmore, a commodities analyst at the National Bank
of Australia.
U.S. light sweet crude was 5 cents weaker at $69.90, while
three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange <MCU3> rose $16
to $5,895 a tonne.
Doubts about economic recovery and profit-taking on riskier
assets has boosted government bonds in recent sessions but
looming supplies in the United States and Japan stalled the
advance on Monday.
December 10-year Japanese government bond futures <2JGBv1>
dipped 0.10 point to 139.51 as market players sold to hedge for
a 2.1 trillion yen ($23.4 billion) 10-year auction on Tuesday.
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