Asia shares rise, dollar firm on Fed, ECB views

Asian shares rose on Tuesday and the dollar held steady as US markets bounced back and the European Central Bank said it was prepared to ease monetary policy further, Reuters reported.

European markets are seen steady, with financial spreadbetters expecting Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE and France's CAC 40 .FCHI to open flat and Germany's DAX .GDAXI to start the day up 0.1 percent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.4 percent at 0039 EDT. Australia advanced 0.3 percent and South Korea .KS11 almost 1 percent, but most southeast Asian markets retreated. Japanese markets are shut through Wednesday.

The US dollar held on to overnight gains after some Federal Reserve officials signaled the central bank is likely to raise interest rates this year.

The greenback was flat at 95.881 against a basket of six currencies .DXY, after earlier climbing 1 percent. It was also little changed at 120.47 yen JPY= following a 0.45 percent rise.

US stocks gained overnight as St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart separately made the case for an increase in U.S. interest rates this year, boosting financial shares.

The comments "offer markets an element of certainty in terms of the short term future for interest rates," said Ben Le Brun, markets analyst at trading platform provider optionsXpress in Sydney.

"Volatility remains in check and probably will continue until at least the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in October."

Investors will be seeking more clarity on the Fed's decision with a number of central bank officials, including Lockhart and Chair Janet Yellen, slated to speak this week.

In Europe, ECB Chief Economist Peter Praet reiterated the bank's readiness to modify its trillion-euro bond-buying program should economic turbulence merit action, according to an interview in a Swiss newspaper..

The euro EUR= was steady at $1.1190.

Markets also took encouragement from Monday’s 1.9 percent gain in Chinese stocks, Richard Grace, chief currency and rates strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, wrote in a note.