RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar hits 6-mth high vs euro; techs up

                                
 * Euro drops below $1.3940 then recovers to $1.4000
                                
 * U.S. bond yields steady after jumping overnight
                                
 * Tech shares lead Asia higher
                                
 * Toyota stock is depressed despite broader market rally
 (Repeats to more subscribers)
                                
 By Kevin Plumberg
                                
 HONG KONG, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar rose to a
six-month high against the euro on Thursday, on signs the
Federal Reserve is more confident about a recovery, while Asian
equities were on track to snap a nine-day losing streak.
                                
 U.S. stock futures rose during Asian session after U.S.
President Barack Obama in an address to Congress had a more
moderate tone on restrictions toward U.S. banks.
                                
 Obama also promised to double exports in the next five
years. [ID:nN27208330]
                                
 In a positive development for risk taking, technology
shares, which have been leading the broader Asian market lower,
reversed course and were up nearly 1 percent across the region,
supported by the outlook for earnings.
                                
 U.S. Treasuries were steady, holding most of the gains in
shorter-maturity yields after a Fed policy meeting overnight.
One hawkish Fed member surprised the market by dissenting to a
decision to remove a phrase from a statement saying rates would
be kept low for an "extended period." [ID:nN27180815]
                                
 "Tt seems like it is going to be a mixed picture ahead,"
said economists with United Overseas Bank in a note.
                                
 "There would be some in the markets convinced that the Fed
will keep rates low for an extended period; yet on the other
hand, there will be a handful taking signals that within the
Fed, a gradual movement towards a more normal monetary policy
stance, perhaps, is starting to emerge."
                                
 * The euro fell to a low below $1.3940 <EUR=> before
cutting losses to $1.4000, while the ICE U.S. dollar index,
which measures its performance against six major currencies,
was up 0.2 percent <.DXY>, after earlier hitting the higest
since September 2009.
                                
 * The yield on the 2-year U.S. Treasury note was steady at
around 0.9185 percent <US2YT=RR> after jumping 11 basis points
overnight.
                                
 * The spread of the benchmark 2-year euro zone government
bond yield over the 2-year U.S. yield narrowed to 24 basis
points, the smallest so far in January, after dropping 6 basis
points on Wednesday.
                                
 * The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan was
up 0.4 percent <.MIAPJ0000PUS> though was still down 5.5
percent so far in January.
                                
 * The tech sector <.MIAPJIT00PUS> was providing the biggest
support to the index, rising 1.3 percent. The sector has had
the biggest upgrades in earnings estimates of any other segment
over the last 30 days, up 4.6 percent, while valuations have
actually contracted in the period.
                                
 * Japan's Nikkei share average <.N225> was up 1.3 percent,
helped by reports of robust earnings growth from Honda Motor Co
<7267.T>, whose stock jumped 4.9 percent.
                                
 * Shares of Toyota Motor Co <7203.T> extended a decline to
13 percent over the past week after having to suspend sales of
some best-selling vehicles in the U.S. market because of safety
issues. [ID:nN2753594]
                                
 * The stronger U.S. dollar weighed on raw materials prices.
Copper traded in Shanghai was down 3.6 percent <SCFc3>, after
three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped around
4.7 percent <MCU3> on Wednesday.
 (Editing by Kazunori Takada)