* Asia stocks flat, energy and tech share gains underpin
* Dollar little changed, oil steady after topping $79
* Australian, S.Korean swap rates drop after jump
By Eric Burroughs
HONG KONG, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Asian shares hovered near
14-month highs on Monday, shaking off an early dip after
disappointing earnings from U.S. corporate bellwethers such as
General Electric Co
European shares were set for a slight rise at the start,
with futures on the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50
Oil prices pushed up to a one-year high of $79.05
South Korean technology exporters such as Samsung
Electronics <005930.KS> also climbed on a weaker won
The dollar edged up, thanks mainly to a retreat in the euro as European policymakers voiced some concerns that the single currency's surge is approaching levels that would damage the euro zone's recovery. Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said he was concerned about a continuous euro rise. [ID:nBRU010102]
But the U.S. currency's gains were slight, and activity was limited as investors focused on what the next batch of quarterly earnings will say about how companies are managing the recovery from the deepest global recession in decades.
Some 135 of the companies in the S&P 500 will report quarterly results this week, with the battered financial sector expected to post the highest growth rate, according to Thomson Reuters data. [RESF/US]
"What we're seeing is just profit-taking, with Wall Street's Friday fall providing the excuse, along with a sense that the market may have risen too far, too fast," said Noritsugu Hirakawa, a strategist at Okasan Securities in Tokyo.
After rallying strongly for more than seven months, stocks have lost some momentum in recent weeks on fears that corporate earnings expectations are far too optimistic given the still frail U.S. economy.
The S&P 500 <.SPX> fell 0.8 percent on Friday after results
from GE and Bank of America Corp
The benchmark MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was unchanged and not far from its 14-month peak hit on Thursday. So far this year, the index is up 65 percent.
Asia ex-Japan shares remain among the top performers in the world as the region has powered out of the recession the strongest, while its major companies have benefitted from a pick-up in demand for electronics.
The Thomson Reuters index of Asia ex-Japan shares <.TRXFLDAXPU> slipped 0.2 percent, while Japan's Nikkei average <.N225> edged down 0.2 percent.
CREDIT SPREADS TIGHTEN
The latest run higher in stocks has been accompanied by an investor shift into Asian fixed-income and credit markets that has pushed spreads tighter, prompting issuers to roll out new bonds to take advantage of attractive funding levels.
The iTraxx credit derivatives index of top Asian companies
In currencies, the euro was flat at $1.4899
Commodities also drifted sideways. U.S. crude oil prices
pared early gains and steadied at $78.53 a barrel
Government bonds were mixed and swap rates fell in some countries after having surged in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea last week on expectations that their respective central banks will be lifting interest rates in coming months.
The five-year Korean swap rate
Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Philip Lowe said that it was appropriate for the central bank to go back to a more normal monetary policy setting, reinforcing expectations another rate hike is coming in November after an increase this month to 3.25 percent -- the first of the G20 to tighten policy. [ID:nSYD488317] (Additional reporting by Elaine Lies in Tokyo) (Editing by Kim Coghill)