STOCKS NEWS ASIA-Shares set for weak start

WELLINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Asian stocks are likely to open lower on Friday, weighed down by a fall in U.S. shares on concerns over consumer confidence, poor jobs data and a firmer U.S. dollar that pressured commodity-sensitive stocks. The main U.S. share indices closed up to 1 percent lower, with investors rattled by a cautious outlook from Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer. British and European shares closed higher, buoyed by merger activity and a brighter outlook from major telecommunications companies. Japanese shares are picked to open little changed, with Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 10 points below the last closing level in Osaka. A weaker yen will likely help export stocks. Australian stocks are set to fall, with share index futures at 4,729, an 18.9 point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index's close on Thursday. Oil prices were nearly 3 percent lower, on the firmer U.S. dollar and a rise in U.S. crude oil inventories. HEADLINES: > Wall Street falls on strong dollar, consumer fears > Disney profit up, revenue beats Street, shrs rise > Nordstrom 3rd quarter profit below Street view > Intel to pay AMD $1.25 bln, settle disputes > BA, Iberia say agree merger > New U.S. jobless claims lowest since January > Obama sets off for Asia, China looms large > Warren Buffett: The financial panic is over > Wal-Mart profit rises, but holiday view light > Oil falls nearly 3 pct on US inventories, dollar -- KEY INDEXES pct change Bank of New York Asia ADR index -1.51 Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.91 Nasdaq Composite Index -0.83 MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan -0.66 Nikkei futures in Chicago 9,780 Nikkei futures in Osaka 9,790 -- ASIAN ADR ACTION: 5 most actively traded: pct change TSMC 0.00 Infosys Tech -0.44 UMC 0.00 ICICI Bank -5.24 AU Optronics -0.72 Top 5 performers: pct change China Eastern 8.08 Novogen 6.28 China Southern 3.75 James Hardie 3.28 Makita Corp. 2.39 Bottom 5 performers: pct change ICICI Bank -5.24 Orix -5.17 Internet Initiative -5.14 Prana Biotech -5.14 SMIC -4.64 -- TOP ASIA EVENTS: For more Asian company earnings, see JAPAN - Japan Airlines Corp H1 results - Aozora Bank H1 results - Mizuho Financial Group H1 results - Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group H1 results HONG KONG - Q3 gross domestic product - Parkson Retail Group Ltd quarterly results - China National Materials Co Ltd meeting (Reporting by Adrian Bathgate) (([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail])) For top Asian company news, double click on: U.S. company news European company news U.S. weekly outlook European weekly outlook Forex news Global Economy news Tech/Telecoms/Media Banking news Political/General news Asia Macro data ASIA STOCK MARKETS: Pan-Asia........ Japan....... S.Korea... S.E. Asia....... Hong Kong... Taiwan.... Australia/NZ.... India....... China..... DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary/data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Hong Kong diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks Asian Stocks Dow Jones/NASDAQ / Nikkei FTSE 100 Debt Currency rates For expanded, multimedia Reuters Top News visit: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * THOMSON ONE: visit topnews.thomsonone.com/topnews * ReutersStation: view story .134 * Reuters Plus: from your WebDSS screen For more information on Top News, visit http://topnews.reuters.com Keywords: MARKETS ASIA/ (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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