STOCKS NEWS ASIA-Shares to gain on U.S. growth optimism

WELLINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Asian stocks are likely to rise on Tuesday, with commodity stocks boosted by a weak dollar and markets helped by comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that were seen as supportive of U.S. growth. The main U.S. share indices closed up as much as 1.4 percent, as Bernanke reinforced that interest rates were likely to stay low for an extended period. British and European shares closed at their strongest levels in more than a year, as the weak dollar drove commodity prices higher. Japanese shares are likely to open firmer, with Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 80 points above the last closing level in Osaka, although a stronger yen may hinder the gains. Australian stocks are also set to rise, with share index futures at 4,820, a 64.8 point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index's close on Monday. Oil prices rose 3 percent on the weak dollar, and better-than-expected U.S. consumer spending data. HEADLINES: > Fed eyes US dollar drop, but keeps low-rate pledge > Dollar down broadly; Bernanke rate outlook weighs > Wall St jumps as Bernanke sees rates staying low > GMAC CEO resigns, Carpenter steps in > US retail sales surge on autos,manufacturing slows > Cantor Fitzgerald open to going public > Bank analyst Whitney bearish on U.S. market > Obama says U.S. not trying to contain China > GM posts loss, vows to repay US, Canada early > Cisco ups Tandberg bid, expected to win approval > IAEA sees risk Iran hiding more nuclear activity > Binding climate treaty may slip far in to 2010 -- KEY INDEXES pct change Bank of New York Asia ADR index +1.68 Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.33 Nasdaq Composite Index +1.38 MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan +1.63 Nikkei futures in Chicago 9,880 Nikkei futures in Osaka 9,800 -- ASIAN ADR ACTION: 5 most actively traded: pct change TSMC 1.98 Siliconware 4.77 UMC 4.36 Infosys Tech 2.04 Mitsubishi UFJ 3.66 Top 5 performers: pct change China Eastern 14.77 Tom Online 10.78 China Southern 5.96 Yanzhou Coal 5.95 LG.Philips 5.17 Bottom 5 performers: pct change Novogen -7.28 Hitachi -6.71 SMIC -5.04 Internet Initiative -4.11 Satyam -2.79 -- TOP ASIA EVENTS: For more Asian company earnings, see HONG KONG - Unemployment statistics for Aug-Oct AUSTRALIA - Minutes of RBA policy board meeting - National Australia Bank Ltd annual 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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