Asian shares surge on U.S. data, euro slips

(Reuters) - Asian shares surged on Friday after encouraging retail sales and jobs data from the United States suggested Asia's biggest export market was stabilizing, while the euro fell on worries about heavily indebted Greece.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei average .N225 was up 2.07 percent at 10,355.63 at 0230 GMT (9:30 p.m. EST), while the broader Topix gained 1.53 percent to 911.34.

The MSCI index of Asian shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.77 percent at 405.86.

Also boosting share sentiment in Tokyo, the Nikkei newspaper said that the Bank of Japan was examining a further easing of its already ultra-loose monetary policy and may make a decision on such a move as early as this month.

"In addition to a solid performance from the U.S. stocks, investors are welcoming a halt in the yen's advance against the dollar after a media report that the BOJ is considering additional easing measures," said Mitsuo Shimizu, deputy general manager at Cosmo Securities.

The dollar index .DXY rose to 80.58, with near-term resistance seen around 81.30, this week's high. The dollar also rose against the yen, inching up to 89.15 yen from around 89.07 yen late on Thursday in New York.

"If dollar/yen climbs back above 90 yen," Shimizu said, "the Nikkei could break out of range-bound trade, with the next target likely being around 10,500."

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday on the stronger-than-expected retail sales and a fall in first-time jobless claims. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI closed up 47.38 points, or 0.46 percent, at 10,444.14.

February's monthly sales performance among U.S. retailers was the strongest since just before the recession started in 2007. The United States reported that first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 469,000 in the latest week.

On Friday, it releases its comprehensive monthly report on non-farm payrolls, the most closely watched figures on the U.S. labor market.

The report is expected to show a loss of 50,000 jobs in February, compared with 20,000 job cuts in January, a Reuters poll shows.

In the commodities markets, spot gold was at $1,132.40, down slightly from New York's close and it is expected to trade in a tight range ahead of the U.S. payrolls data due at 1330 GMT.

U.S. NYMEX crude was up 39 cents at $80.66 a barrel.

A short squeeze in the euro appeared to have run its course, with investors once again fretting about Greece.

Traders said the market was likely to stay cautious, steering clear of higher-yielding currencies, ahead of the U.S. jobs data.

"Greece worries continue and with investors still cautious about risk, I would have a bias toward the U.S. dollar ahead of the payrolls data," said Jonathan Cavenagh, currency strategist at Westpac.

The euro was down at $1.3572 from $1.3589 late in New York on Thursday when it lost 0.8 percent. It had risen above $1.37 following a robust response to a Greek debt auction on Thursday.

But if fell after the chief of the European Central Bank (ECB), Jean-Claude Trichet, said recovery in Europe would be uneven, squashing any outside chances of a near-term rise in record low euro zone interest rates.

The ECB, as expected, kept rates unchanged on Thursday, but took a small step in unwinding some its extraordinary support for the economy.

Investors also fretted whether Greece's fresh plans to address its debt woes would win wider support in the European Union ahead of a meeting of German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the Greek prime minister later on Friday.

The single currency has lost nearly 10 percent since November last year when sovereign debt problems surrounding Greece and other peripheral euro zone economies emerged.