* Asian shares up 3 pct on hopes for government actions
* Oil rebounds more than $1 to above $43 a barrel
* Safer-haven assets such as yen fall
* Caution still remains amid concerns over data, profits
(Updates with latest Asian prices, new quote)
By Rafael Nam
HONG KONG, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rallied 3
percent to a one-month high on Wednesday amid hopes governments
worldwide will bail out ailing industries and increase spending
as they fight back against a deepening economic crisis.
The White House and U.S. Congressional Democrats reached a
tentative agreement on a bailout for beleaguered U.S. auto
makers, while in Asia, hopes are rising for government-led help
for key sectors such as technology. []
The measures are coming as central banks from the European
Central Bank to the Federal Reserve are expected to continue
cutting interest rates that are already at their lowest in
years.
Oil rebounded more than $1 to above $43 a barrel, after
slumping on Tuesday, while assets which are seen as safer
havens during volatile times, such as the Japanese yen, pulled
back.
"What we are seeing right now may be a gradual turnaround
in global stocks as liquidity in financial markets is seen
slowly improving, helped by the latest moves by governments,"
said Jun Ji-won, a market analyst at Kiwoom.Com Securities in
Seoul.
"Stabilisation in foreign exchange is also helping."
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 3 percent as of 0415 GMT, after earlier
hitting its highest level since Nov. 12. Japan's Nikkei average
<> gained 2.7 percent.
The Asia-Pacific index is now up more than 20 percent since
hitting a five-year low on Nov. 21, but has still fallen by
more than half this year.
INDUSTRY SUPPORT
Governments worldwide are looking to spend their way out of
sharply slowing economic growth via various stimulus measures,
while expectations are rising they will also step in to help
sectors and companies in trouble.
U.S. stock futures advanced after the White House and U.S.
congressional Democrats reached an agreement in principle on a
$15 billion proposal for bailout out U.S. auto makers,
potentially staving off bankruptcies that would have roiled
global markets. []
In Taiwan, struggling ProMOS <5387.TWO>, the smallest of
the local three DRAM memory chip makers, was said to have
applied to the government for assistance, sending shares up 6.5
percent, while shares in South Korean rival Hynix Semiconductor
Inc <000660.KS> also rose on expectations it will receive a
funding boost from shareholders.
The rebound in global markets since their lows in late
November are also coming amid a backdrop of falling interest
rates and plunging commodity prices.
The combined actions may be bearing fruit. Australia's
consumer sentiment was surprisingly stronger than expected in
December on the back of sharp falls in interest rates and
petrol prices, according to data on Wednesday. []
Main indexes in South Korea <> Taiwan <> and Hong
Kong <> rose 3 percent or more each, with smaller gains
seen in Australia <> and Singapore <.FTSTI>
Shanghai's <> main index, however, fell 1.2 percent.
DEGREE OF CAUTION
Still, signs of caution are not hard to find, casting
doubts on a sustained rebound in global markets. Investors on
Tuesday sent yields in U.S. Treasury bills to zero as they look
to safeguard their money before the end of the year.
A report on Wednesday showed Japan's core machinery orders
fell a bigger than-expected 4.4 percent in October, underlining
a weakness in corporate capital spending in an economy mired in
recession. []
Meanwhile, the fears of deflation remain firmly in place.
China's wholesale price inflation collapsed last month,
undershooting expectations by a wide margin, a report on
Wednesday showed. []
Corporate profits are under fire, and companies such as
Sony COrp <6758.T> are cutting jobs and slashing spending.
Gains in stocks helped pushed down the yen against the
dollar and the euro. The Japanese currency has strengthened
this year as investors, shunning most types of risk, unwound
trades that had used the low-yielding yen.
"The uncertainties that have been dogging the market are
being removed one by one," said Hideaki Inoue, chief manager of
forex trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank in Japan.
"Equity markets are bottoming out. Measures by governments
to help economies are also being seen in a positive light. All
these factors have helped reduce market volatility," he added.
The dollar rose 0.3 percent from late U.S. trading on
Tuesday to 92.41 yen <JPY=>, while the euro advanced 0.6
percent to 119.56 yen <EURJPY=R>.
Emerging currencies that had recently been under fire
advanced. The Indonesian rupiah <IDR=> gained 0.9 percent to
10,950 to the dollar, extending gains from Tuesday, when it
jumped 6 percent as investors snapped up local assets.
Oil prices pared Tuesday's steep losses to gain $1.12 to
$43.19 a barrel <CLc1>, though caution remains ahead of U.S.
government data later in the day expected to show a fall in
U.S. distillate and gasoline inventories.
(Additional reporting by Park Jung-youn in SEOUL and Shinichi
Saoshiro in TOKYO; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
