* Asian shares dip after Fed offers cautious economic
outlook
* Dlr falls against Asian peers as U.S. commits to low
rates
* Asian exporters hurt by rise in regional currencies
By Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Asian shares dipped on
Thursday, and the dollar fell after the U.S. Federal Reserve
vowed to keep rates near zero for "an extended period" and said
the recovery of the world's biggest economy would be sluggish.
The Fed's pledge to stick to a very loose monetary policy
[] was expected and gave investors little new to
trade on, although its cautious economic outlook prompted light
profit taking.
Shares of exporters were hit by Asian currencies' modest
gains. The dollar index <=USD> was flat at around 75.8 but the
U.S. currency was quoted at 90.54 yen <JPY=>, down from 90.75
in late Asian trade on Wednesday, and slipped against other
currencies.
"I do not think the Fed signalled any change," said Richard
Grace, chief currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of
Australia. "The policy guidance remains the same. I think the
downtrend in the U.S. dollar is intact and we could see the
dollar index fall to around 74 in the short term."
Japan's Nikkei <> slid 1.4 percent as the yen's
advance hurt exporters, but Nissan Motor <7201.T> was up 1
percent after soaring sales in China prompted the carmaker to
reverse its annual outlook to a profit from a loss.
[]
A rise in the Korean won <KRW=KFTC>, to as high as 1,174 to
the dollar from 1,178.4 at Wednesday's close, also hurt
exporters in Seoul where the KOSPI index <> tumbled 1.4
percent. That was despite upbeat economic data, including
double-digit department store sales growth and a further rise
in exports to China last month.
"Investors are looking at the first batch of fourth-quarter
indicators now that we are unsure about whether markets will
remain solid in November or not," said Kim Seung-han, a market
analyst at HI Investment & Securities in Seoul.
The Dow Jones <> rose just 0.3 percent on Wednesday,
giving up earlier gains after the Fed's statement, which said
the lack of inflation pressure would enable it to maintain
loose monetary policy.
Network equipment vendor Cisco Systems <CSCO.O> posted
positive earnings after the bell though, sending its shares up
3.1 percent. And there was encouraging economic news as data
showed the U.S. services industry grew modestly for a second
month in October and private sector job losses slowed.
TAKEOVER REJECTED
In Asia, the MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded
outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was down 0.9 percent while the
Thomson Reuters index of regional shares <.TRXFLDAXPU> was 1.4
percent lower.
Shares in Australia were down 0.8 percent, but toll-road
operator Transurban Group <TCL.AX> surged as much as 20 percent
after the company rejected a takeover offer by two Canadian
pension funds but said it was open to talks. []
Japanese government bond futures fell, tracking a slide in
longer-term U.S. Treasuries overnight on investor fears of
excessive government debt supply after the Fed's statement.
The euro <EUR=> was down slightly at $1.4841, from $1.4865
in early trade, as investors awaited a European Central Bank
meeting later on Thursday. The ECB is expected to keep interest
rates at a record low but may give clues on when it will start
weaning banks off cheap funds. []
The Bank of England also meets on Thursday with
policymakers set to decide whether to inject more stimulus into
the British economy. []
Gold <XAU=> hovered around $1,088 an ounce after hitting
another record high overnight, at $1,097.25.
In New Zealand, markets were still pricing in monetary
tightening by the end of April but the Kiwi dollar <NZD=> fell
after comments from the central bank that the economic recovery
was more vulnerable than in Australia and after the jobless
rate hit a nine-year high at 6.5 percent. []
"New Zealand has had a recession, and the pick-up is slower
and more vulnerable -- a difference financial markets do not
appear to appreciate," Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor
Alan Bollard said in notes prepared for a business group.
The Kiwi fell to as low as $0.7192, from around $0.7270
before Bollard's comments.
The oil price <CLc1> dipped 0.6 percent to $79.9 a barrel,
after gaining more than $3 a barrel in the past three days.
(Additional reporting by Gyles Beckford in WELLINGTON, Kim
Yeon-hee in SEOUL and Anirban Nag in SYDNEY; Editing by Jan
Dahinten)
(susan.fenton@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6367; Reuters
Messaging: susan.fenton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
