* U.S. crude hits 2009 high above $75; gold at record high
* MSCI all-country world share index at new 12-month high
* Stocks buoyed by positive outlooks on tech from Intel,
ASML
* China exports surprise to upside, global demand improving
* U.S. dollar resumes broad slide
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar plumbed a
14-month low against the euro on Wednesday, sending gold prices
to record highs and pushing up oil for a fifth day to a 2009
high of $75.12 a barrel.
Major European stocks <> rose 1.3 percent after
bullish outlooks from Intel <INTC.O>, the world's biggest
micro-chip company, and Dutch chip equipment maker ASML
<ASML.AS> fuelled optimism that global consumer demand is
picking up. [][]
U.S. stock futures were up 1 percent, indicating a higher
open on Wall Street, while the MSCI all-country world stock
index <.MIWD00000PUS> rose 0.8 percent to a new 12-month high.
For a second day, buoyant commodity prices and optimism
about the technology sector propelled Asian stocks traded
outside Japan to their highest levels since early August.
Improvements in Chinese export and import data for
September as well as a surprising rise in its copper imports
also boded well for the rest of the year, offering fresh
evidence that its economy is firmly on a recovery track and
that the global economy is improving, too.
"Overall, export performance will be much better in the
months to come," said Dong Tao, an economist with Credit Suisse
in Hong Kong.
"I think it's going to be sustainable and it's going to
accelerate. There are some rush orders coming to China for
Christmas, so I expect probably a pretty strong rebound in
November and December." [][]
However, there were still reasons to be cautious about
near-term economic and corporate prospects.
Federal Reserve Vice-Chairman Donald Kohn said in a speech
the recovery will not be V-shaped, healthcare giant Johnson &
Johnson <JNJ.N> posted disappointing quarterly revenue and
closely watched independent analyst Meredith Whitney downgraded
her view on Goldman Sachs <GS.N> two days before the bank's
results.
DOLLAR WEAKNESS TO PERSIST
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 1.7 percent to the highest since Aug 7,
2008. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index <> rose 1.7 percent,
driven by energy-related shares as oil surged higher.
Japan's Nikkei share average <> bucked the trend and
slipped 0.25 percent after a five-day rising streak, with
exporters hit by a stronger yen as the dollar resumed its broad
slide after a few days respite.
"It'll be hard to try above these levels until investors
see apparent signs of improvement in the corporate earnings
outlooks for the next business year," said Kenichi Hirano,
operating officer at Tachibana Securities in Tokyo.
The dollar dropped 0.6 percent against the yen to 89.20 yen
<JPY=>, bringing lows below 88 yen hit earlier this month back
into view.
The latest rush to buy yen and sell dollars came after
Naoki Minezaki, a senior vice finance minister in Japan, told
Reuters that yen strength is due to dollar weakness which will
likely persist, and the government should not intervene in
markets just because the yen is rising. []
The euro climbed 0.2 percent to $1.4877 <EUR=>, after
earlier rising to $1.49, the highest since August 2008.
The ICE Futures U.S. dollar index was down 0.5 percent
<.DXY> on the day and has declined 14 percent since March, when
a global equity rally signaled an economic turning point and
prompted investors to shift out of safe assets denominated in
dollars.
The weak dollar has been a boost to commodity prices across
the board.
U.S. light crude <CLc1> for November delivery was up 1.2
percent at $75.01 a barrel by mid-afternoon after setting a
fresh 2009 high of $75.15.
Brent crude was up 1.2 percent at $73.26 <LCOc1>.
Gold prices in the spot market rose to a record high of
$1,070.40 an ounce <XAU=>, up more than 20 percent this year.
London copper prices <MCU3> rose nearly 2 percent, boosted
by the softer dollar and the surprise surge in Chinese copper
imports last month.
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi and Tetsushi Kajimoto
in TOKYO)
