* Ruling party wins vote in Tokyo, lifting yen
* US retail sales due later could affect risk rally's fate
* Third time a charm for S&P 500's 200-day moving average?
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged up while the yen jumped to a 15-year high on Tuesday after an election in Japan kept the status quo, leaving unclear whether a rally that lifted global equities to a four-month high can stay alive.
European shares slipped, with some caution ahead of data from Germany and the United States. By 0710 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares was down 0.1 percent at 1,087.42 points, after closing on Monday at its highest level since late April.
The yen has for the past few years been a gauge of investors' distaste for risk-taking, strengthening when the need for stability is high. Politics though influenced the yen on Tuesday.
Investors have had mixed signals in September about whether
it is the right time to shift out of havens and buy back
riskier, higher-yielding assets.
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Resilient economic growth out of China and relief that new banking regulations will not unleash a rush to raise equity have gently turned the attention of investors away from uncertainty about the U.S. recovery.
August U.S. retail sales due later could be a reminder though of how much the economy is slowing.
"Although better data in the U.S. and China and the agreement in Basel on new regulations have boosted risk appetite, the moves are already beginning to look exhausted," Mitul Kotecha, global head of foreign exchange strategy at Credit Agricole CIB, said in a note.
"It would be easy to jump on the bandwagon, but after the sharp gains registered over recent days we would suggest taking a cautious stance about jumping into risk trades at current levels."
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan won a leadership election on Tuesday ensuring in the eyes of traders that Tokyo will maintain a cautious approach to battling yen strength and further borrowing to stimulate economic growth.
The U.S. dollar was down 0.5 percent to 83.30 yen
YEN BULLS ON PARADE
With the election out of the way, dealers rushed back into their bets on more yen strength, riding the momentum that has lifted the currency 11 percent this year to the consternation of officials concerned about exports.
The U.S. dollar index <.DXY>, a measure against six other major currencies, was largely unchanged on the day after earlier hitting a one-month low, as dealers scooped up yen and Swiss francs.
Japan's Nikkei share average <.N225> closed 0.2 percent lower before the poll results were released, unable to break above a downward sloping trend line stretching from April. The strong yen has been a lead weight on Japanese stocks, causing them to underperform other advanced markets.
The Nikkei has not risen above its 200-day moving average since early May. The U.S. S&P 500 index <.SPX> on the other hand has breached the key long-term indicator three times since May, including overnight. A third failure to stay above the 200-day moving average could trigger a bout of profit-taking.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan was up 0.3 percent <.MIAPJ0000PUS>, having fallen for only two days so far in September. The raw materials sector provided the biggest lift, while sectors associated with safety from volatility underperformed, a hopeful sign for equity bulls.
The index is trading at 11.7 times expected earnings a year from now, still way below the five-year average of 13.2 times, suggesting there are still more bargains out there, Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data showed.
The all-country world stocks index <.MIWD00000PUS> rose for a fifth day to the highest since May 5.
While equity market traders tried to keep a rally going, bond markets could hold a clue on investor sentiment on risk taking.
A precipitous decline in the yield of the 10-year U.S. Treasury note since April paused in September, while investors reloaded on cheap equities and higher-yielding credit. The resumption of declining U.S. yields could be an additional weight on the dollar and a sign of interest in risk taking.
The U.S. 10-year yield was at 2.73 percent
Japanese 10-year government bond yields fell 5 basis points
on the day to 1.10 percent
Oil was steady near a one-month high with the shutdown of
the biggest Canada-U.S. pipeline entering a fifth day. U.S.
crude for October