GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks gain as upbeat China data lifts mood

* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* MSCI ex-Japan index rises, most Asian markets in green
* Central bank meetings dominate week's agenda
* China industrial output gives boost to markets

By Anshuman Daga
SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Asian equities advanced on
Tuesday and the dollar slipped, with investor sentiment
supported by Chinese data and optimism about COVID-19 vaccines.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.5%, for a fourth straight day of gains,
up nearly 3% so far this year.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 put on 0.2%, reversing
early losses, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures STXEc1 eased 0.2%.
Chinese blue chips added 0.7% .CSI300 , buoyed by data
showing China's industrial output rose 5.6% in August from a
year ago, expanding for a fifth straight month. The yuan climbed
to a 16-month high. B9N2F802B
"The activity data today shows that the recovery in the
private sector gained momentum in August. The recovery in China
has become more balanced and broad-based," HSBC economists said
in a report.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 shed 0.5%, while South Korean shares
.KS11 were 0.5% higher and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index
.AXJO eased 0.2%.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga won a ruling
party leadership vote, paving the way for Japan's first change
of leader in nearly eight years. Strategists expect Japanese equities to take support from
Suga's win.
"He's seen as someone who's particularly stock market
friendly. The fact that we've got political certainty for the
next two years from someone who's connected to the free market
is going to be good news for Japan," said Jim McCafferty, joint
head of Asia Pacific equity research at Nomura.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 slipped 0.3%, while
EUROSTOXX 50 futures STXEc1 eased 0.2%
So far this year, gains in Asia have been led by technology
stocks.
"From an asset class point of view, if you require to
generate any income from your investment portfolio, then
equities is one of the few places you can do that because bond
yields are so low," said McCafferty, who prefers North Asian
companies due to their stronger balance sheets.
He said investors who didn't want to pay lofty valuations of
U.S. stocks could look to fast-growing tech companies in Taiwan
and South Korea.
U.S. retail sales figures from August are due Wednesday.
Investors will also look to central banks for direction,
with the U.S. Federal Reserve starting a two-day policy meeting
on Tuesday, the first since unveiling a landmark shift to a more
tolerant stance on inflation in August.
The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England announce their
respective policy decisions on Thursday.
Markets will be focused on projections from Fed policymakers
on the U.S. growth outlook and on any details about what the
bank intends to do to encourage inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI closed up 1.2% and
the S&P 500 .SPX rose 1.3% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC added 1.9%.
"We remain neutral stocks versus bonds as we balance
extended equity valuations, fading fiscal support, and upcoming
U.S. election risks against still ultra-low interest rates and a
gradually improving economic environment," analysts at T. Rowe
Price said in a global asset allocation report.
U.S. stocks gained after drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L said
it resumed its British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine,
one of the most advanced in development. The dollar index =USD slipped to 93.029, dipping further
from a one-month high of 93.664 touched last week. The euro
ticked up to $1.1867 EUR= , having gained for four straight
sessions until Monday.
Against the safe-haven yen, the dollar traded at 105.73 yen
JPY= , having touched a two-week low of 105.55 yen on Monday.
Brent crude LCOc1 was down 0.2%, at $39.5, reversing
earlier gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures
CLc1 were down 0.1% at $37.2 a barrel.
Gold prices XAU= put on 0.6%, extending a sharp rise in
the previous session.