Asian shares, Nikkei recover as soft U.S. data sees QE staying on

TOKYO | Fri May 31, 2013 5:03am BST
(Reuters) - Asian shares recovered but the dollar stayed pressured on Friday after lacklustre U.S. data eased concerns about an early end to the Federal Reserve's strong stimulus programme which has sharpened investor appetite for risk.

Global markets rose overnight as U.S. GDP grew a slightly less-than-expected annualised 2.4 percent in the first quarter, new jobless benefits claims rose in the latest week, and pending home sales grew far less than expected in April, pointing to a fragile economy which still requires support from monetary policy.

German Retail Sales m/m -0.4% 0.3% -0.5%

French Consumer Spending m/m -0.3% -0.5% 1.3%

EUR Italian Quarterly Unemployment Rate 11.9% 11.2% 11.2%

EUR Italian Monthly Unemployment Rate 12.0% 11.6% 11.5%

GBP Net Lending to Individuals m/m 1.4B 0.9B 1.1B

EUR CPI Flash Estimate y/y 1.4% 1.4% 1.2%

EUR Unemployment Rate 12.2% 12.2% 12.1%

EUR Italian Prelim CPI m/m 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%

CAD GDP m/m 0.2% 0.1% 0.3%

USD Core PCE Price Index m/m 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%

USD Personal Spending m/m -0.2% 0.2% 0.1%

USD Personal Income m/m 0.0% 0.2% 0.3%

Chicago PMI 58.7 50.3 49.0

USD Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment 84.5 84.1 83.7

USD Revised UoM Inflation Expectations 3.1% 3.1%