* Euro slides as ECB official says EU won't save Greece
* Dollar regains ground against the yen
* Asian stocks creep up, helped by energy, resource shares
* European shares set to open slightly lower
* Investors wary ahead of U.S. jobs data
By Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Jan 6 (Reuters) - The euro fell sharply on
Wednesday after an ECB official reportedly said the EU would
not rescue Greece, while concern about a big drop in U.S. home
sales limited gains in Asian stocks.
Rising oil and commodity prices helped drive
resource-related Asia shares slightly higher. European share
markets, however, were set to open weaker, according to
financial spreadbetters, while U.S. equity futures <SPc1> were
down 0.3 percent.
The euro <EUR=> fell to $1.4290 after European Central Bank
Executive board member Juergen Stark was quoted in a media
report as saying the European Union would not bail out Greece,
which is heading towards becoming the eurozone's most indebted
economy. []
The euro later edged back up to $1.4300, still down 0.5
percent on the day.
The dollar was up 0.4 percent against a basket of major
currencies <.DXY> as it also regained ground against the yen
<JPY=> by midafternoon, after falling to as low as 91.25 in New
York trade on an unexpected decline in November pending U.S.
homes sales.
It was quoted at 92.12 yen but remains well below a
three-month high of 93.22 yen hit earlier this week.
The yen could come under further pressure if Finance
Minister Hirohisa Fujii were to resign due to poor health, as
widely expected, traders said. []
That would deal a fresh blow to the government as it
struggles with a weak economy and huge public debt, but Japan's
stock and government bond markets remained calm.
"Fujii's resignation might be expected to lead to a weaker
yen, but since this hasn't happened, the stock market is
unlikely to respond much at this point either," said Masayoshi
Yano, an analyst at Meiwa Securities in Tokyo.
The benchmark Nikkei share index <> edged up 0.5
percent to a fresh 15-month closing high with resource-related
shares continuing to rise on the back of a surge in commodity
and oil prices since the start of the year.
Shares of Japan Airlines <9205.T>, however, tumbled 6.7
percent on a report a government-backed turnaround fund is
seeking bankruptcy proceedings for the struggling carrier.
[]
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS>, which is trading at 17-month highs, rose 0.6
percent, extending gains over the past few days.
Investors were cautious after data on Tuesday showed an
unexpected drop in pending U.S. homes sales in November, but
other data pointed to upbeat factory orders.
Markets were awaiting the December ADP employment data and
the minutes from last month's Federal Reserve meeting, due
later on Wednesday, for any clues about the health of the U.S.
economy and when the Federal Reserve might start to raise
interest rates. <ECONUS>
Investors are also awaiting key U.S. non-farm payroll data
on Friday. If the economy actually added jobs, as a minority of
economists predict, it would provide a powerful jolt to what
has been a sluggish recovery.
OIL STEADY NEAR $82
Oil prices <CLc1> eased slightly to $81.60 a barrel
following an unexpected increase in U.S. oil stocks. Frigid
temperatures in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia had
pushed crude to its highest settlement in nearly 15 months on
Tuesday. []
Copper futures <SCFc3> rose in Shanghai to 61,600 yuan
($9,019) a tonne, their highest level since July 2008, buoyed
by recent positive economic data from the United States and
China and aided by concerns over harsh weather in China that
could disrupt the supply of base metals.
"Some investors who closed their positions before the New
Year's Day holiday are now back buying again," said Wang
Zhouyi, an analyst at Shanghai CIFCO Futures in Shanghai.
Gold <XAU=> which has see-sawed this week in inverse
relation to the dollar, rose to $1,123.70 an ounce from
$1,118.10 at the New York close.
The precious metal rallied 25 percent last year as
investors bought it as a safe haven and as a hedge against a
declining dollar and inflation risk. But it is now well off a
record high $1,226.10 on Dec. 3 amid uncertainty about the
dollar's direction and on signs the global economy is
improving.
Asian currencies continue to benefit from rising risk
appetite and South Korean authorities were spotted intervening
for a second day to rein in the surging won <KRW=>, which hit a
15-month high on expectations interest rates may soon rise.
Japanese government bonds edged lower, with the 10-year
yield <JP10YTN=JBTC> hitting a seven-week high at one point
before dipping after the sale of 10-year debt. Prices at the
auction, the first supply hurdle for the market this year, were
in line with expectations.
There was little immediate reaction to reports that Finance
Minister Fujii will quit. Traders said the focus is now
shifting to whether his successor can maintain the same kind of
fiscal restraint in face of political pressure to spend more on
economic stimulus projects, which would further inflate the
country's mountain of debt.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies in TOKYO and Rujun Shen
in SHANGHAI; Editing by Kim Coghill)
(susan.fenton@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6367; Reuters
Messaging: susan.fenton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
