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* Asian shares down, but Chinese stocks led up by refiners
* Oil steadies after sliding on Chinese fuel price rise
* Dollar dips versus yen
By Anshuman Daga
SINGAPORE, June 20 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell to their
lowest in a week on Friday, led by oil-related plays because of
concern a big fuel price rise in China will hit demand for oil.
Crude oil steadied after tumbling 3.5 percent in the
previous session because of China's announcement.
The dollar dipped against the yen as a fall in Tokyo share
prices tempered demand for risky carry trades. []
European stock futures pointed to a strong start, with June
futures for the Eurostoxx 50 <STXEM8>, Germany's DAX <FDXM8>
and the French CAC 40 <FCEM8> expected to open between 0.2 and
0.4 percent higher.
Chinese stocks <> stood out, jumping 3 percent, with
heavyweight refiners leading gains. Sinopec <600028.SS> and
PetroChina <601857.SS> both rose over 2 percent as higher
gasoline prices were expected to boost their profit margins.
U.S. July crude <CLc1> edged up 0.1 percent to $132.1 a
barrel in Asian trade after sliding nearly $5 on Thursday when
China announced the fuel price hike late in the day.
"Allowing an increase in the controlled fuel prices in
China may temper growth in fuel demand in China, helping
moderate demand-based pressure on oil prices," David Moore, an
analyst with Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note.
China raised retail gasoline and diesel prices by up to 18
percent on Thursday to temper demand, at the risk of stoking
domestic anger over inflation, already at a decade high.
[]
It joined a long list of Asian countries, including
Indonesia and India, that have bowed to the pressure of record
high oil prices by scaling back subsidies and raising fuel
prices.
Soaring oil prices this year have fanned worries about
inflation and economic growth, adding to financial market woes
stemming from a global credit crisis. "Markets are likely to
see more downside than upside in the second half of the year,"
said Hong Kong-based Conita Hung, head of equity markets at
Delta Asia Securities.
"Markets are concerned about the dollar and the overall
macroeconomic slowdown and inflation," she said.
STOCKS FALL
The MSCI index of stocks in the Asia-Pacific region outside
Japan <.MSCJIAPJ> dropped 0.5 percent to 444.6, the lowest
since June 13. It is down 16 percent so far this year.
Japan's Nikkei stock average <> ended 1.3 percent
lower, with Inpex Holdings <1605.T> and other oil-related
shares among the losers.
South Korea's KOSPI <> was down 0.6 percent and
Taiwan's TAIEX index <> lost 1.8 percent.
Among gainers, Hong Kong <> jumped 1.3 percent and
Singapore's Straits Times index <.FTSTI> rose 0.7 percent.
The dollar dipped around 0.1 percent from late U.S. trading
on Thursday to 107.92 yen.
It had edged down to 107.85 yen on trading platform EBS
earlier, although that was still within sight of a four-month
high of 108.59 yen hit on Monday.
A drop in stocks can curb investors' appetite for risk and
their demand for carry trades, which involve selling
low-yielding currencies such as the yen to buy higher-yielding
currencies and assets.
A meeting on Sunday in Saudi Arabia between consumers and
producers to discuss rising oil prices will be a focal point
ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting
starting next Tuesday.
The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at
2.0 percent next week.
Gold <XAU=> fell to $899.40/900.40 an ounce from
$902.95/904.35 late in New York on Thursday, when it jumped as
high as $907.90, its strongest level in more than a week.
(Additional reporting by Chua Baizhen; Editing by Alan
Raybould)
