* Asian shares gain, buoyed by techs
* Dollar off highs vs euro, yen following weak U.S. data
* Gold and oil extend gains as dollar retreats
By Kevin Yao
SINGAPORE, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Thursday
led by gains in technology shares, while the U.S. dollar edged
further away from recent peaks after an unexpected drop in U.S.
home sales cooled optimism about the economic recovery.
Gold prices <XAU=> gained 1 percent to $1,097.65, adding to
the previous day's 1 percent gain spurred by the dollar's
retreat and after sliding to a seven-week low on Tuesday.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 1 percent but trading was thinned ahead of
the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The Shanghai Composite Index <> led the regional
gains, jumping 1.9 percent and extending its rebound from its
lowest in seven weeks hit on Tuesday.
The Thomson Reuters index of Asia ex-Japan equities was up
0.9 percent <.TRXFLDAXPU>.
Japan's Nikkei <> jumped 1.6 percent to its highest in
three months, lifted by high-tech exporters such as Advantest
<6857.T> on a weaker yen and after better-than-expected
earnings from U.S. peers.
"Investors are welcoming gains in U.S. stocks and
stabilising currency moves. The solid performance of U.S.
technology stocks is particularly positive for the tech-heavy
Nikkei average," said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst
at Mizuho Securities.
U.S. technology shares rose on Wednesday after solid
earnings from Micron Technology Inc <MU.N> and Red Hat Inc
<RHT.N>, but the broader market's gains were capped by the home
sales data.
Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes unexpectedly
dropped 11.3 percent last month to a 355,000 unit annual rate,
Analysts had forecast an increase to 440,000 units. For
details, see []
The data reminded investors that the path to a recovery
will be bumpy, one day after a larger-than-expected jump in
sales of existing U.S. homes fueled a market rally.
The dollar hovered below a three-month peak against the
euro <EUR=> and two-month high on the yen <JPY=> hit earlier
this week. The dollar index <.DXY>, a gauge of its performance
against six other major currencies, was also sitting below this
week's three-month high.
The euro is on course for its biggest monthly fall against
the dollar since January and was holding just above its weakest
levels since early September after dipping near $1.42 this
week. For further direction, investors will focus on weekly
U.S. jobless claims due at 1330 GMT to see whether a recent
improvement in monthly payrolls will be sustained. Economists
in a Reuters survey forecast a total of 470,000 new filings in
the week ended Dec. 19 compared with 480,000 in the previous
week.
U.S. crude oil for February delivery <CLc1> gained 71
cents, or 0.9 percent, to $77.38 a barrel, after jumping 3
percent in the previous day, driven by a weak dollar and U.S.
data showing a fall in crude oil stockpiles last week.
(Editing by Kazunori Takada)
