Asian stocks ex-Japan hit record, dlr steadies

HONG KONG, Nov 15 (Reuters) Asian stocks outside Japan hit a record high on Wednesday as exporters rallied on hopes for a strong U.S.

holiday shopping season after upbeat results from major U.S.

retailers and as oil prices stayed below a barrel.

Market sentiment was further boosted by expectations that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates any time soon after U.S. core producer prices fell 0.9 percent in October -- its biggest fall since August 1993 -- to ease inflation worries.

The dollar was steadier after dropping on the rate outlook while gold, which is often seen as an inflation hedge, crept up slightly after sliding below 0 an ounce on Tuesday.

Still, caution ahead of U.S. consumer prices due this week was expected to temper investor enthusiasm for buying stocks.

''The key is going to be the CPI,'' said Garry Evans, pan-Asia equity strategist at HSBC in Hong Kong.

Evans said while the global economy was clearly slowing, there was still a large amount of liquidity supporting growth markets such as China, India and Indonesia.

By the end of the morning session, Tokyo's Nikkei was little changed.

But the MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan was up a third of a percent and holding just below a record high reached earlier at 370.97.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index, Taiwan's TAIEX, Singapore's Straits Times, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index and South Korea's KOSPI were all up between 0.2 and 0.6 percent.

Among Tokyo's gainers were Tokyo Electron, which on Tuesday reported a 55 percent jump in net profit, and chip tester maker Advantest Corp.. They rose 2.85 percent and 4.51 percent respectively.

Major exporters such as Canon Inc. and auto-maker Toyota Motor both gained about 0.4 percent while South Korea's flat-screen maker LG.Philips LCD jumped 4 percent.

LG Electronics expects its flat screen joint venture with Philips Electronics to return to profit in the second quarter of 2007, a company source told Reuters.

Australia's Computershare jumped 9.21 percent after the world's top share registry company lifted its earnings forecast and announced plans to buy back up to 25 million shares.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, pushing the Dow to a record closing high. The Dow settled 0.71 percent higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.01 percent.

U.S. retail stocks shone after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, lifting hopes for strong retail demand in the key shopping season ahead of the year-end Christmas holiday.

DOLLAR STEADIER The dollar was steadier against the yen as market focus shifted U.S. reports due later this week, including the minutes on Wednesday of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting and consumer prices on Thursday.

''While many players want to sell the dollar now, a higher-than-expected CPI could boost expectations for a rate hike and push up the dollar to 119 yen,'' said a trader at a Japanese bank.

The dollar bought 117.67 yen, little changed from late U.S.

levels after falling around 0.5 percent on Tuesday, while the euro fetched 150.70 yen, near the record high of 151.48 yen struck last week.

U.S. crude edged up 22 cents to .50 a barrel after suffering yet another fall on Tuesday as mild U.S. weather cut heating oil demand in the world's top energy consumer.

Gold was trading at 3 an ounce, climbing from a low of 9 plumbed the previous session.

Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Japanese bond slipped 2 ticks to 1.70 percent, taking a breather after Tuesday's jump on the back of strong Japanese growth data.

Reuters SP DB0922