GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks head higher on China data, markets eye Fed meeting

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

By Anshuman Daga
SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Asian equities extended gains
on Tuesday and the dollar slipped, with investor sentiment
supported by Chinese data and optimism about COVID-19 vaccines.
Chinese blue chips added 0.4% .CSI300 , buoyed by data
showing China's industrial output rose 5.6% in August from a
year ago, expanding for a fifth straight month. B9N2F802B
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 0.3%, for a fourth straight day of
gains.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 shed 0.8%, while South Korean shares
.KS11 rose 0.3% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO
added 0.1%.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga won a
landslide victory in a ruling party leadership election, 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.
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.
They favour cyclical exposure through small-cap and emerging
markets equities, anticipating a gradual recovery as global
economies emerge from coronavirus-related shutdowns.
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, with its low
last week of 92.695 seen as an immediate support.
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 3 cents, or 0.1%, at $39.58,
reversing earlier gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
crude futures CLc1 were down 2 cents, or 0.1%, at $37.24 a
barrel.
Gold prices XAU= put on 0.3%, extending a sharp rise in
the previous session.