Dollar dips after Bernanke comments

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index <.HSI> fell 0.8 percent but banking giant HSBC Holdings <0005.HK> dropped 1.5 percent ahead of a meeting between debt-laden Dubai World and its key creditors, including HSBC, on Tuesday.

The meeting will discuss the Middle East conglomerate's request to delay payment on $26 billion in debt, which has shaken global markets in the past few weeks.

GOLD REBOUNDS

Gold rebounded to $1,163 an ounce from $1,157 at the New York close as the dollar lost ground, while oil prices were steady at $74 a barrel after sliding 2 percent on Monday.

Asian currencies, hurt overnight along with other riskier currencies by news that Standard & Poor's had put Greece on negative credit watch, rebounded as the dollar slipped on receding U.S. rate rise expectations.

The Australian dollar bounced back to $0.9162 from an overnight low of $0.9054.

"It is back to the status quo," said Richard Grace, chief currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

"This means U.S. yields are likely to stay fairly unattractive for some period and that should give a boost to currencies like the Aussie."

The Korean won, however, weakened against the dollar as investors remained wary of possible intervention by the authorities.

(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag in SYDNEY and Elaine Lies in TOKYO; Editing by Kim Coghill)