Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Asian stocks rise, dollar near 2-month high

Asian shares extended gains on Tuesday while the dollar held near a two-month peak against the yen, as investor fears over a possible recession in the United States subsided.

Japan's Nikkei average rose 1 percent, led by high-tech exporters, such as Advantest Corp, as Tokyo caught up with Friday's record-setting rally on Wall Street. Japanese markets were closed on Monday for a national holiday.

By 8:53 p.m. Monday EDT, MSCI's measure of Asia Pacific stocks excluding Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS: Quote, Profile, Research) was flat. On Monday, it added 0.3 percent to a record closing high.

Australia's S&P ASX 200 rose 0.2 percent, South Korea shares (.KS11: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 0.3 percent and Taiwan stocks (.TW11: Quote, Profile, Research) opened up 0.3 percent.

Worries about a U.S. economic downturn and its global fallout receded on Monday, lifting the dollar and Asian stocks, though European shares took a breather after a five-session rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.16 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index inched up 0.25 percent.SINGAPORE (Reuters) -

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