Asian stocks dipped on Friday after the head of the Federal Reserve said risks to U.S. economic growth had increased, while global credit concerns resurfaced after a steep ratings downgrade of a U.S. bond insurer, Reuters reported. Still, a measure of Asian stocks outside Japan posted its first weekly gain of this year, up around 1 percent, as some fears about the global economy begin to ease and investors take a closer look at battered shares. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index saw its biggest weekly gain since late November after surprisingly resilient economic growth, though the Bank of Japan on Friday cautioned it expected moderate but slow growth for the year. The dollar stayed weaker as confidence in the U.S. outlook remains fragile, while safe-haven assets such as bonds and gold edged higher. "I'm getting the feeling that markets have priced in a lot of the negatives but it will take at least 12 months for all the credit market issues to shake themselves out of the market," said Angus Gluskie, portfolio manager at White Funds Management. European shares were set to retreat, with Britain's FTSE 100, the German DAX and the French CAC 40 all seen opening lower. The MSCI measure of Asian stocks outside Japan was off 0.1 percent at 0710 GMT. Despite the small weekly gain, the index is still off around 10 percent this year, as a widening global credit crisis and deepening concerns over a U.S. slowdown have deterred investors. The falls have been larger than the 6.7 percent drop in the Dow Jones industrial average this year. The MSCI Asia index had risen by double digits in each of the prior five years. "I think investors are tempted to buy after recent sharp drops in stock markets made valuations very attractive, but they are struggling to find the right time to return," said Kim Joong-hyun, an analyst at Goodmorning Shinhan Securities.
