AlHijjah 1, 1433, Oct 17, 2012, SPA - Asian shares rose to their highest in over five months on Wednesday as strong U.S. earnings reports boosted investors risk appetite, while the euro hit a one-month high against the dollar and the yen as Spain retained an investment-grade debt rating, Reuters reported. Growing risk tolerance weighed on the safe-haven dollar, pushing its index measured against a basket of six key currencies to a 1-1/2-week low while underpinning dollar-based commodities and the commodity-linked Australian dollar. A weaker dollar also lifted spot gold 0.2 percent to $1,750.79 an ounce, off a one-month low seen on Monday. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped as much as 1 percent to a 5-1/2 month peak, and was last up 0.8 percent. Hong Kong shares hit a seven-month high as resources-related and shipping sectors gained. The materials sector of the pan-Asian index outperformed, buoying resources-reliant Australian shares as much as 1 percent to 15-month highs. The Australian dollar was up 0.3 percent to $1.0303. "We're in one of those situations where there's a lot of cash packed on the sidelines looking for significant pullbacks to get in," said Ric Spooner, a market strategist at CMC Markets, of the Australian equities. Japan's Nikkei average gained 1.3 percent to a one-week high as investors scooped up stocks cheapened by a recent selling that sank the index to a 2-1/2 month low. The euro was boosted to $1.3125, its highest since Sept. 17, after rating agency Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday affirmed its Baa3 investment grade sovereign rating on Spain, easing fears of an imminent downgrade to junk status. The euro also touched a one-month high against the yen at 103.51 yen, before fading to 103.01 yen.
