Asian shares pause after rally, eye US data for clues

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Asian shares drifted lower on Wednesday, after rallying the previous session on hopes for further stimulus from the Federal Reserve, as investors waited for more clues on the state of the U.S. economy.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.2 per cent, after rising more than 1 per cent to a one-week high on Tuesday.

At current levels, the index is set for a quarterly gain of nearly 13 per cent, the best showing since the third quarter of 2010.

Japan's Nikkei share average fell 1 percent, giving up some of its gains from Tuesday -- when it jumped 2.4 per cent to its highest level since last year's massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11 -- as the majority of the companies in the index went ex-dividend.

Dealers had expected the ex-dividend impact, with 195 out of 225 firms trading without the right of dividend, to take 86 points off the benchmark, or about 0.8 per cent.

While most Asian equities followed a sluggish close for global and U.S. markets on Monday, Australian shares bucked the trend and rose 0.7 per cent to hit their highest in nearly four months as a report from the central bank said large banks were in a better position than a few years ago to cope with higher funding costs, boosting bank shares.

"It is natural to see a pause since equities markets have been on an uptrend for five months since hitting their lows, but the downside is limited as real money, which has lagged hedge funds and CTAs (commodity trading advisors), are catching up with the rally," said Tetsuro Ii, the president of Commons Asset Management in Tokyo.

"Risk positive trend is likely to continue next quarter, while markets undergo a fine-tuning in sentiment, taking into consideration such risks as sluggish growth in China and the United States and rising oil prices due to tensions between Iran and Israel."

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday it was too soon to declare victory in the U.S. economic recovery, warning against complacency in policy making as the outlook brightens.

After saying on Monday that accommodative monetary policy would stay in place to support demand and drive down long-term unemployment, Bernanke told ABC news on Tuesday that the Fed has not taken any options off the table and needs to be prepared to respond to however the U.S. economy evolves.

The Federal Reserve remains unlikely to abandon quantitative easing -- creating money to fund asset purchases -- outright, said Ashraf Laidi, chief global strategist at City Index Group, adding that this would be bullish for the euro against the dollar.

"A form of restricted QE remains the most likely outcome, especially as inflationary pressures risk being more than just transitory," he said.

After falling on Bernanke's comments, the dollar climbed against the euro on Tuesday to snap two straight sessions of losses.

The U.S. currency was last down 0.1 per cent against the single currency at $1.3331 and was down 0.3 per cent against the yen at 82.95.

US DURABLE GOODS EYED
Expectations for a steady recovery in the U.S. economy have underpinned investor sentiment, offsetting the negative mood stirred by deteriorating eurozone growth.

Investors will be looking for clues from U.S. durable goods orders data for February, due later in the day.

Data on Tuesday showed Americans were more worried about inflation in March than at any time in the last 10 months and consumer confidence waned in the wake of higher gasoline prices.

But the data suggested U.S. consumers did not feel the economic recovery was losing momentum, and their view of their present situation rose to the highest level since September 2008.

Another report showed U.S. home prices were unchanged in January from December, hinting at a stabilising housing market.

Brent crude prices dipped 0.6 percent to $124.83 a barrel and U.S. crude was also down 0.6 per cent at $106.74 a barrel.

Copper slipped 0.6 per cent to $8,485 a tonne, ahead of the U.S. data which would shed fresh insight into the health of the world's top economy.

Asian credit markets eased, with the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index widening by 4 basis points.