* Global shares higher
* Wall Street set for positive open
* Oil up $2 a barrel after steep fall
* Yen weaker against dollar, euro
By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent
LONDON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Hopes that governments worldwide
will help out ailing industries and implement stimulus measures
to fight against a deepening economic crisis lifted global
stocks on Wednesday while oil gained $2 a barrel.
European shares <> were up 0.2 percent in choppy trade
but Japan's Nikkei average <> rose 3.2 percent to a
one-month closing high.
This and gains in emerging market stocks helped lift MSCI's
main world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> around 0.7 percent,
putting it in positive territory for the month.
If sustained, it would be the first time in seven months
that the world benchmark has had a monthly gain. The index has
lost around 45 percent this year.
Wall Street, in the meantime, looked set for a positive
open.
The White House and U.S. Congressional Democrats reached a
tentative agreement on a bailout for beleaguered U.S. auto
makers, helping lift the mood.
"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.
At the company level, global miner Rio Tinto <RIO.L> was in
focus after it announced plans to cut capital spending, slash
jobs and boost asset sales but said it would hold its dividend
steady.
Rio shares were up 17 percent in London. It plans to reduce
its global headcount by 14,000, the latest in a series of job-
cutting moves by major companies.
OIL REBOUND
Oil rebounded after having slumped 4 percent overnight on
the back of lowered forecasts for U.S. energy demand and fears
of a worsening global recession.
The market is looking ahead to producer cartel OPEC's Dec.
17 meeting, which is expected to agree more output cuts to boost
prices.
U.S. crude for January delivery <CLc1> was up around $2.30
at a little over $44 a barrel. On Tuesday, it fell $1.64, or
3.75 percent, to settle near a four-year low of $42.07 a barrel.
"The economic picture is weighing on the market, and the
market is in waiting mode for next week's OPEC meeting," said
Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives sales manager at broker
Newedge in Tokyo.
On foreign exchange markets, the yen edged down against the
dollar and euro as shares extended gains, while the dollar was
weaker against a basket of major currencies.
The dollar rose 0.6 percent from late U.S. trading to 92.68
yen <JPY=>, while the euro advanced 0.9 percent to 119.97 yen
<EURJPY=R>.
The euro was up a quarter of a percent against the dollar at
$1.2946 <EUR=>.
Euro zone government bond prices were flat to slightly
higher. The two-year Schatz yield <EU2YT=RR> was at 2.28
percent, barely changed, while the 10-year Bund yielded
<EU10YT=RR> 3.21 percent, down about 2 basis points.
(Editing by Stephen Nisbet)
