* Investors cautious ahead of U.S. earnings reports
* Technology shares fall on profit taking
* Commodity prices up on weak dollar, help resource shares
* Taiwan follows China's gradual tightening lead
By Jun Ebias
HONG KONG, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell on Tuesday as investors took profits on a recent run-up in technology shares and awaited earnings reports from major U.S. companies, while casting a wary eye on regional central banks taking more steps to tighten policy.
European shares <.FTEU3> followed Asia lower, dipping 0.2
percent in early trade. But U.S. stock futures
The U.S. dollar eased, giving a boost to oil and commodity prices, which helped underpin shares of resource companies despite the broader equity market sell-off.
"Part of the earnings have been exaggerated by record low interest rates and you can't expect that to carry on for the next 12 months," said Sean Darby, chief Asia strategist at Nomura International in Hong Kong.
"Input costs will start to rise now after companies have been living off cheap inventories for the last six months. That will also start feeding into their earnings."
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> slipped 0.3 percent, with technology shares the biggest drag after a sharp run-up in the sector that began early last year. The Thomson Reuters index of regional shares <.TRXFLDAXPU> pulled back 0.6 percent.
Chi Mei Optoelectronics <3009.TW>, Taiwan's No. 2 LCD maker, tumbled 4.1 percent, while South Korea's Samsung Elecronics <005930.KS> fell 2.4 percent. In Hong Kong, shares of Foxconn International Holdings <2038.HK> slumped 6 percent.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei average <.N225> dipped 0.8 percent as the stronger yen weighed on shares of exporters and as traders took profits from its recent rally, which saw the benchmark hit a 15-month high last week. Honda Motor Co <7267.T> was 2.1 percent lower and Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> slipped 1.2 percent.
An expected bankruptcy filing by Japan Airlines <9205.T> had little market impact, with its shares already having plunged to just 5 yen. [ID:nTOE60D089]
Taiwan's tech-heavy market was the worst performer in the region after reaching a 19-month intraday peak on Monday. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> fell 1.1 percent as investors trimmed holdings of tech shares heading into earnings season.
Taiwan's central bank on Tuesday followed China's lead to rein in excess liquidity by raising the rate at which banks borrow from each other to an eight-month high, suggesting authorities may be leaning towards monetary policy tightening to curb inflationary pressures. [ID:nTOE60I05C]
The move came just after China's central bank lifted the yield in an auction of one-year bills more than expected, raising worries that authorities may be considering more aggressive measures to cool lending growth and keep the economy from overheating. [ID:nTOE60I03B]
The fresh step by the People's Bank of China capped gains in Shanghai <.SSEC> and Hong Kong <.HSI>, largely offsetting expectations for strong Chinese economic data due for release this week. [PRE-CN-RTRS-MCE]
Investors were cautious, however, as U.S. financial markets
reopen after Monday's holiday. A slew of key earnings reports
are due this week from heavyweight stocks, including Bank of
America
Stronger-than-expected results last week from tech
bellwether Intel Corp
CURRENCIES
The dollar
At a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday, Greece received the group's backing to tackle its debt troubles, even as they pressed the country to do more on its own. [ID:nLDE60H2K0]
Greece's ballooning budget deficit and debt of more than 120 percent of GDP has triggered downgrades by debt rating agencies and hurt the euro
The pound also got a boost from reports that U.S.-based
Kraft Foods
But the Australian dollar
Metal and oil prices rose on the weaker dollar.
Palladium hit a fresh 18-month peak, spurred by the launch of an exchange-traded fund backed by the metal earlier this month, while gold
Oil
In the bond market, five-year Japanese government bond yields