* Gold hits fresh record as dollar hovers near 15-month low
* Shares pull back as light profit taking emerges
* Aussie dollar surges to 15-mth high on strong jobs data
By Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Gold rose above $1,120 an
ounce to a fresh record high on Thursday as the U.S. dollar
wavered near 15-month lows, while Asian shares lost ground as
investors took profits after four days of gains.
Financial spreadbetters expected British <> and French
shares <> to follow Asian markets lower but saw a higher
opening for Germany's DAX share index <>. U.S. equity
futures <SPc1> slipped 0.4 percent.
The dollar <.DXY> fell to a 15-month low in early trade
before recouping some losses, but was still down 0.2 percent
against a basket of major currencies by midafternoon.
Its weakness encouraged a further shift by investors into
gold <XAU=>, which hit a record high for a second day, rising
around 0.4 percent to $1,120.30 an ounce, while platinum <XPT=>
rose to a record high above $1,376 an ounce.
Bullion has recorded successive record highs for six out of
the past eight sessions due to persistent dollar weakness,
fears of a resurgence in inflation and hopes for more central
bank gold buying.
Sterling <GBP=> also remained under pressure after the Bank
of England on Wednesday explicitly called for currency weakness
to boost exports and on benign UK inflation data.
[] Sterling was trading at $1.6569, after falling
more than 1 percent the previous day.
Asian shares surrendered early gains, showing some signs of
fatigue as a massive rally extends into its ninth month.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> was down 0.3 percent in late trade, snapping a
four-day winning streak, but has still more than doubled from
March lows and is near a 15-month high hit in October.
Hong Kong stocks <> fell 0.9 percent as profit taking
set in. Japan's Nikkei <> index also gave up early gains
and closed 0.7 percent lower.
"The market lacked strength for further gains and
consolidation is needed for the market to take a breather,"
said Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at KGI Asia in Hong
Kong.
Analysts however, said profit taking could be limited as
investors still seem to have an appetite for risk, reflected by
the flight out of the weak dollar into higher-yielding assets.
A string of robust economic data from China on Wednesday
has added to expectations the world's fastest-growing major
economy can lead a pick-up in global activity, while a report
on Thursday showed U.S. home foreclosure filings slowed for a
third straight month in October. []
U.S. President Barack Obama was due to make a statement on
job creation and the economic recovery later in the day at 1425
GMT.
ASIA CURRENCIES REMAIN FIRM
Australia's equity market <> dipped 0.2 percent after
strong employment data for October raised the likelihood of
another interest rate rise next month.
That along with firmer prices for gold and other
commodities propelled the high-yielding Aussie dollar <AUD=> to
a 15-month high of $0.9370.
"One month of this data you can take with a grain of salt,
but two months in a row of positive (employment) numbers is
starting to look like a trend," said Rob Henderson, head of
market economics at National Australia Bank.
Asian currencies are also expected to continue to face
upward pressure after China signalled on Wednesday it was ready
to renew yuan appreciation after an 18-month hiatus. Some
analysts however, worry further regional currency appreciation
could make its exports less competitive and impede economic
recovery. []
The yuan rose slightly against the dollar on Thursday in
benchmark offshore one-year non-deliverable forwards.
Korean authorities were spotted intervening to curb the won
<KRW=>, which was quoted at 1,156 to the dollar, up from 1,157
late on Wednesday.
South Korea's central bank said recent economic activity
showed "clear recovery" but added it would maintain policy
easing for the time being [] and kept its
benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low 2 percent.
Korean bond futures <KTBc1> were up 0.2 percent in late
trade as the central bank's comments were seen dampening
expectations for a rate rise in the first quarter.
Korean shares were down 1.4 percent but business group
Hyosung <004800.KS> rallied 15 percent after the company
withdrew its bid for a controlling stake in Hynix Semiconductor
<000660.KS>, the world's No. 2 memory chipmaker. []
Hynix shares were down 0.5 percent.
Shares in PT Adaro Energy <ADRO.JK>, Indonesia's largest
coal miner by market value, jumped as much as 7 percent
following news that the stock will be included in the MSCI
Indonesia Index with effect from Nov. 30.
U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> held steady above $79 a
barrel, with the market awaiting the release of government data
on crude and refined oil product stocks and other economic
indicators due out later in the day for directional cues.
(Additional reporting by Bill Tarrant in SINGAPORE and Wayne
Cole in SYDNEY; Editing by Kim Coghill)
(susan.fenton@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6367; Reuters
Messaging: susan.fenton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
