After rallying sharply in recent months, the USA dollar index recorded its fourth straight session of losses on Wednesday after briefly dipping below its 50-day moving average of 98.02 on Tuesday. Its listed unit the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd dipped 0.5 percent. Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto both jumped 4 percent while BHP Billiton rose more than 3 percent despite news that it will release the findings of a law firm hired to determine the cause of a dam burst at one of its Brazilian mines. Regional stock markets fluctuated through the morning, with Tokyo down 0.1 percent by lunch, Hong Kong up 0.1 percent, Sydney 0.2 percent higher and Shanghai flat. USA stocks moved modestly higher in early trading Monday, rebounding after two days of heavy selling last week. Higher oil prices tend to benefit energy companies and resource-rich countries like Australia. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14 points, or 0.7 per cent to 2,019 and the Nasdaq composite rose 31 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 4,955. The dollar slipped to 121.00 yen from 121.10 yen. OIL PROBLEMS: Crude oil continued to sell off, hitting levels not seen since the financial crisis. Crude fell 25 cents, or 1 percent, to $35.81 a barrel. Energy stocks continued to fade as a result, making it the worst performing part of the S&P 500. Newfield Exploration was down $1.48, or 5 percent, to $30.11. ConocoPhillips fell 89 cents, or 2 percent, to $45.05. The gains come as the greenback's interest rate-fuelled rally last week petered out, with analysts saying it would not likely push any higher, while investors keep an eye on the plan for future rises by the Federal Reserve. On Friday, U.S. stocks plunged as many traders booked profits accumulated when the Fed finally ended the uncertainty over its intentions. The U.S. revised its third quarter economic growth figure to 2 percent, though economists expected 1.9 percent. But stocks often recover somewhat after sharp sell-offs, so Monday's buying is partly a recovery from last week's drop. "Chinese stimulus is positive for the economy and many investors are gauging the general impact of any new measures as well as the longer-term impact of the Fed rate increase", said Attila Vajda, managing director of advisory firm Project Asia Research & Consulting. Hang Seng's trading volume was merely 1.1 billion shares, slightly higher than the previous session's 945 million shares, which was a 10-month low. Financial Spots http://financialspots.com/2015/12/23/most-asian-stocks-meander-as-investors-mull-china-outlook/

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