HONG KONG (Reuters) - Profit taking in technology stocks pushed Asian shares slightly lower on Wednesday, though they remained near a 15-month high, while some stability in the U.S. dollar and a rise in inventories knocked oil below $79 a barrel.
Major European stocks .FTEU3 opened modestly higher while U.S. stock futures were little changed after Wall Street slid overnight on disappointing housing data. .N
A recovery in demand for tech products has been unmistakable and so far earnings for the sector have held up, but dealers were prone to trim bets ahead of a heavy load of Chinese economic data on Thursday and with the MSCI IT index for Asia Pacific ex-Japan .MIAPJIT00PUS already up 87 percent so far this year.
"Investors still favored technology shares amid a slew of positive results from U.S. tech companies, but temptation to take profits could take a toll after tech shares' recent gains," said Andrew Deng, an assistant vice president at Taiwan International Securities Corp.
The factors that have pushed global equity markets to a one-year high and knocked the U.S. dollar to a 14-month low against a basket of major currencies have not changed overnight. Still, investors were pausing to take a closer look at where bets appear stretched.
Japan's Nikkei share average .N225 was nearly even on the day, with strength in Fast Retailing (9983.T) offset by weakness in shares of Tokyo Electron (8035.T), the world's second-largest maker of chip equipment, and Advantest (6857.T).
The weakness could be temporary, though. A report on Tuesday showed orders for Japanese micro chip gear outpaced sales for the sixth consecutive month in September.
Adding to the case that tech shares may have further to run, South Korea's LG Electronics (066570.KS) posted a 49 percent rise in operating profit that beat forecasts and pushed up shares 1.7 percent.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS slipped 0.5 percent, but has still risen 67 percent so far this year. On Tuesday the index hit its highest level since July 31.
Hong Kong .HSI and Shanghai .SSEC share indexes eased as traders awaited Chinese third-quarter GDP data on Thursday. A Reuters poll showed economic growth likely accelerated to 8.9 percent in the quarter from a year earlier.
Sales to China have helped boost neighboring Asian economies, partly offsetting persistently weak demand in major Western export markets.
TECH STOCKS LAG
The MSCI IT sector fell 1.6 percent, making it the biggest underperformer in the region, followed by materials and telecoms.
It is trading at a multiple of 16.3 times its earnings expected 12 months ahead, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. That is higher than the 10-year average valuation of 14.4 times.
