By Rafael Nam
HONG KONG, March 18 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rebounded on
Tuesday from Monday's sell off as pummeled financials regained
some lustre and the dollar steadied ahead of a Federal Reserve
meeting that is expected to yield steep U.S. rate cuts.
Oil recovered some poise after a big drop on Monday but
metals were weak on fears of a global economic slowdown.
Gold retreated from a record high above $1,030 an ounce hit
on Monday as investors unwound some safe-haven bids and booked
some profits from an asset class that has risen almost 20
percent so far this year. Bonds also gave up some recent sharp
gains.
"There's still a lot of uncertainty in the markets, but at
the same time expectations of a Fed rate cut of 75 to 100 basis
points are sparking some short-covering," said Takashi Ushio,
head of the investment strategy division at Marusan Securities.
The MSCI's measure of Asian stocks outside Japan had gained
0.6 percent as of 0223 GMT, after plunging 4.5 percent on
Monday to its lowest level since August.
Monday's markets slumped after the Fed's unexpected cut in
a key lending rate and the bargain sale of U.S. investment bank
Bear Stearns <BSC.N> to JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> sparked
fears of a deepening global credit crisis.
Concern about financial market contagion and a U.S. economy
that is already believed by some economists to be in recession
is likely to weigh heavily on Fed policy makers later on
Tuesday when they gather to decide on U.S. interest rates.
[]
Fed funds futures are reflecting expectations the central
bank will cut its key fed funds rate by 1 percentage point from
the current 3 percent, with an outside chance of a 1.25
percentage-point cut.
Fed policy will be key for Asian exporters such as South
Korea's Hyundai Motor Co <005380.KS> which depend on U.S.
consumers to power their profits.
Sentiment will also be set by quarterly earnings from U.S.
financial firms, especially Lehman Brothers <LEH.N>, which is
due to post earnings on Tuesday. The bank's shares dropped 19
percent on Monday on speculation it was vulnerable to the
credit crisis.
Asian financial companies, which have been spared the level
of writedowns reported by their U.S. and European counterparts,
have nonetheless suffered this year on the view they can't be
immune to the liquidity crunch.
But shares in lenders such as National Australia Bank Ltd
<NAB.AX>, up 2.12 percent, and Japan's top lender Mitsubishi
UFJ Financial Group <8306.T>, up 3.3 percent, regained some of
what they had lost on Monday's sell-off.
Japan's Nikkei average <> rose 1.5 percent, recovering
after hitting its lowest since August 2005 on Monday following
a 4 percent drop.
Markets elsewhere, including South Korea <>, Australia
<>, Singapore <.FTSTI>, Hong Kong <>, and Taiwan
<> gained less than 1 percent each.
BOJ STANDOFF
The Bank of Japan is dealing with problems of its own amid
a standoff that is preventing the appointment of a governor to
manage monetary policy in the world's second-biggest economy.
The Japanese government nominated a former top finance
ministry official, Koji Tanami, as the next governor, but he
could face the same fate as the previous nominee Toshiro Muto,
who was vetoed by opposition parties in the upper house of
parliament. []
The dollar steadied against other major currencies ahead of
the Fed's meeting, trading at 97.20 yen <JPY=> from as low as
95.77 yen on Monday, which had been the lowest in nearly 13
years.
The euro held at $1.5737 <EUR=>, down from a record peak of
$1.5905 on Monday.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> rose 44 cents to $106.12 a
barrel, gaining back some of the 4.11 percent they lost on
Monday, though well off a peak $111.80 hit on Monday.
Crude oil prices had risen over 16 percent this year as of
Monday, driven in part by speculators buying oil to hedge
against inflation and the falling value of the U.S. dollar.
But other commodity remained weak after the Reuters
Jefferies CRB Index <.CRB>, which tracks 19 commodities
futures, fell about 5 percent on Monday, its sharpest
single-day slide in almost 40 years.
Gold <XAU=> was quoted at $998.10 per ounce, well off from
a record $1,030.80 hit on Monday.
Platinum <XPT=> hit a one-week low, while silver ,XAG=> and
palladium <XPD=> hovered below their recent highs.
Japanese government bond futures eased as investors booked
profits after debt prices had hit a five-year high on Monday.
June 10-year futures <2JGBv1> were down 0.50 point at
141.20, off a five-year high 142.00 hit on Monday.
