* Asia-Pacific stocks ease on recovery doubts, Japan
suffers
* Rupiah leads Asian FX lower on capital control fears
* US dollar decline takes a breather; Aussie falls 3rd day
* Gold slips on profit taking but record high is close
By Kevin Yao and Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Asian stocks eased on doubts
about the pace of economic recovery, while the Indonesian
rupiah and the Idian rupee fell on concerns over official steps
to curb capital flows after Brazil's latest move to limit the
rise of its currency.
Gold <XAU=> edged down as the dollar gained some ground
against the euro and other major currencies, taking a breather
after hitting a record above $1,150 per ounce the previous day.
After gains of nearly 70 percent in Asian equities so far
this year, investors are likely prone to taking profits before
year-end.
A six-month low in U.S. housing construction in October and
news this week that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T>,
Japan's largest bank, will have to raise $11 billion in new
shares to meet stricter capital requirements have underscored
how the climb back from the worst economic crisis in
generations will be slow.
"With the capital raisings, the yen's strength and
politics, there is three times the pain," said Tomomi
Yamashita, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management,
The Nikkei share average <> fell 1.3 percent to the
lowest since July 21, also on concerns over the government's
fiscal policies.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> fell almost 0.3 percent but still hovered near
a 15-month high reached on Tuesday, The Thomson Reuters index
of regional shares <.TRXFLDAXPU> was down around 0.5 percent.
U.S. stocks futures were down 0.3 percent <SPc1>,
indicating a lower open later in the day.
The dollar rebounded the against the euro <EUR=> and the
yen gained against high-yield currencies as investors, spooked
by weaker equities performance and fears of capital controls in
emerging markets, unwound positions in riskier assets.
The high-yielding Australian dollar eased 0.3 percent to
$0.9260 after touching the highest since Aug 1, 2008 on Monday,
above $0.9400.
CAPITAL CONTROLS
Market fears over possible capital curbs by Indonesia have
eased after the central bank on Wednesday played down the
threat of immediate curbs, but investors sentiment was hurt by
Brazil's move to curb capital inflows, traders said.
Brazil took another step on Wednesday to try to contain the
appreciation of its currency, unveiling a 1.5 percent tax on
certain trades involving American Depositary Receipts issued by
Brazilian companies.
The Indonesian rupiah <IDR=> fell 1 percent to 9,510 per
dollar, prompting the central bank to intervene to support the
unit, which remained the best performing currency in Asia.
The Indian rupee <INR=IN> slipped 0.7 percent to 46.51 per
dollar as investors worried that authorities there may start
looking at steps to temper surging capital inflows.
Taiwan has banned foreigners from investing in time
deposits and South Korea announced measures on Thursday aimed
to tightening controls over currency liquidity to make the
banking system less vulnerable to the capital flight.
[]
But analysts believe most Asian countries will refrain from
imposing harsh measures to stem hot money inflows that could
distort policy signals, but market jitters could persist.
"Few things scare a foreign investor more than the thought
that the rules could be changed on them after they have
invested and they will be either unable to access their funds
easily or will be suddenly driven out," said Westpac strategist
Sean Callow.
"Given that it is so widely expected that USD/Asia will
decline for many months and quarters to come, investors will
wonder why would the flurry of restrictions and proposals end
here?" he added.
U.S. crude for December delivery was down 0.3 percent to
$79.40 a barrel <CLc1>, after being unable to settle above $80
for a 10th consecutive session.
(Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in TOKYO; Editing by
Kazunori Takada)
