STOCKS NEWS ASIA-Shares defensive after oil scales new peak

SYDNEY, May 12 (Reuters) - Asian shares are set for a
lacklustre open on Monday, tracking falls on Wall Street after
oil's jump to another record raised worries about the health of
the U.S. economy.

Oil prices CLc1 rose to an all-time peak above $126 a
barrel on Friday, stoking worries about inflation and slowing
consumer spending.

Record-high oil prices are also likely to dent cost-sentive
airline stocks such as Korean Air (003490.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), though energy
firms such as Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) may
rise.

Australian financial firms could be in focus after Westpac
Banking Corp Ltd (WBC.AX: Quote, Profile, Research), the nation's fourth-biggest lender,
said it had entered merger talks with St George Bank Ltd
(SGB.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) to create Australia's largest home lending and wealth
management provider.

Asian stocks listed on Wall Street .BKAS fell 0.8
percent, while the MSCI's measure of Asia Pacific stocks
excluding Japan .MSCIAPJ shed 0.5 percent last Friday.

HEADLINES: > AIG's loss and record oil sour mood on Wall St

[nN09513042] > Oil hits record $126 on supply worry, fund
buying [nSP115466] > Westpac says in takeover talks with St
George [nSYU004345] > US March trade gap narrows on record
import drop [nN09468867] > Citigroup aims to shed $400 billion
of assets
[nN09468753] > Platinum ends sharply higher on ETN launch
[nL09683783] > Soft demand drags metals lower, tin at new
peak [nL09824515] > China forms company to make regional,
jumbo jets [nPEK192239] > China's Pudong Bank, Shandong Trust
to tie up [nSHA29895] > News Corp unexpectedly drops bid
for Newsday [nN10539978] > VW, Sanyo to develop
lithium-ion battery-paper [nT165587]

KEY INDEXES pct change

Bank of New York Asia ADR index .BKAS -0.76

Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI -0.94

Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC -0.23

MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan .MSCIAPJ -0.49

Nikkei futures in Chicago 2NKc1 -2.15

Nikkei futures in Osaka JNIc1 -0.66

ASIAN ADR ACTION:

5 most actively traded: price change/pct

TSMC (TSM.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(2330.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) -0.72

Infosys Tech (INFY.O: Quote, Profile, Research)(INFY.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) +0.19

BHP Billiton (BHP.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) +1.41

Siliconware (SPIL.O: Quote, Profile, Research)(2325.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) -0.61

AU Optronics (AUO.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(2409.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) -1.60

Top 5 performers: price change/pct

Chartered Semi (CHRT.O: Quote, Profile, Research)(CSMF.SI: Quote, Profile, Research) +3.81

APT Satellite (ATS.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(1045.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) +3.29

Tom Online (TOMO.O: Quote, Profile, Research)8282.HK +2.47

Satyam (SAY.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(SATY.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) +1.68

BHP Billiton (BHP.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) +1.41

Bottom 5 performers: price change/pct

Makita Corp. (MKTAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research)(6586.T: Quote, Profile, Research) -3.55

Advantest (ATE.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(6857.T: Quote, Profile, Research) -3.51

Telecom Corp. NZ (NZT.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(TEL.NZ: Quote, Profile, Research) -3.48

PetroChina (PTR.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(0857.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) -3.10

Hitachi (HIT.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(6501.T: Quote, Profile, Research) -2.96

TOP ASIA EVENTS:

For more Asian company earnings, see [ASIA/EQTY]

JAPAN - Earnings: Marui Group (8252.T: Quote, Profile, Research), Sumitomo Realty
& Development (8830.T: Quote, Profile, Research), Nikon Corp (7731.T: Quote, Profile, Research),
Dentsu Inc (4324.T: Quote, Profile, Research), Maruha Nichiro Holdings
Inc (1334.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

SEOUL - Korea Development Institute to give first-half

2008 economic forecasts

SYDNEY - Housing finance, March
(Reporting by Geraldine Chua, Editing by Jacqueline Wong)