* Asian, European share markets swing higher with Wall St
* Yen, bonds ease as investors reconsider rush to safety
* Upbeat economic data from Singapore and Australia
* More glimmers of hope for UK economy but c.bank wary
By Kaori Kaneko and Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO/SYDNEY, July 14 (Reuters) - Asian stocks bounced on
Tuesday as a rally in U.S. financial shares helped Japan break
a long losing streak, while also reversing some of the recent
safe-haven rush into the yen and sovereign bonds.
Upbeat news from Singapore also boosted investor
confidence, as economic growth in the trade hub climbed 20.4
percent annualised in the three months to June, ending four
quarters of contraction. [].
Analysts said other export-dependent Asian economies were
also expected to see improved second quarters, but questioned
whether that could be sustained amid still weak consumer demand
in the region's major Western markets.
European bourses also looked like enjoying early gains,
with Eurostox 50 futures <STXEc1> up 1 percent.
British retail sales rose in June and house prices fell at
their slowest rate in two years, two surveys showed on Tuesday,
in further signs that economy may be bottoming out after the
worst downturn in decades. But another report showed Germany is
unlikely to see sizeable economic growth in the rest of 2009.
Unease ahead of key data on U.S. retail sales and a slew of
U.S. corporate earnings including banking giant Goldman Sachs
<GS.N> on Tuesday was enough to limit gains in commodity prices
and keep crude oil <CLc1> pinned near $60 a barrel.
"Market sentiment has improved slightly compared to a few
days ago, but we still need to see the actual numbers of U.S.
results," said Mitsuru Sahara, chief manager at Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
Japan's Nikkei average <> ended 2.3 percent higher, a
welcome break from a string of recent losses []. MSCI's
measure of stocks elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific <.MIAPJ0000PUS>
rose 2.8 percent.
The gains tracked Monday's 2.5 percent rally in the S&P 500
<.SPX> and owed much to a single banking analyst.
In a change of mood, influential Wall Street analyst
Meredith Whitney upgraded Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N> to a
"buy" on Monday, saying bank shares were in for at least a
short-term gain of 15 percent. The S&P Financial Index <.GSPF>
rose 6.5 percent as a result, while Goldman rose 5.3 percent.
"After a recent bearish run, the market has been looking an
opportunity to rebound, and the analyst comments on the
financial sector fit the bill," said Yutaka Miura, senior
technical analyst at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.
Also helping sentiment was a report from the Wall Street
Journal that the U.S. government was in advanced talks to help
embattled CIT Group <CIT.N>, one of the nation's major lenders
to small and medium sized business.
Still, no deal was certain, the WSJ said, and sources told
Reuters the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp was opposed to
granting CIT access to a government guarantee. []
Australian shares <> ended up nearly 3.5 percent after
a surprisingly strong survey of Australian business conditions.
The Aussie dollar <AUD=> got a lift to $0.7856 from the news,
which was seen as lessening the need for further cuts in
interest rates.
The survey of over 400 firms from National Australia Bank
<NAB.AX> showed a marked pick up in sales and profits, along
with a record improvement in employment intentions.
[].
LESS SAFE
The tentative pick up in stocks seemed to lessen the need
for safe havens like government bonds and the Japanese yen,
which eased across the board.
Japanese bond futures slipped [], while U.S. 10-year
Treasury yields ticked up to 3.38 percent from a two-month low
of 3.26 percent touched on Monday. []
The dollar <JPY=> firmed to 93.28 yen, after touching a
five-month low of 91.73 on Monday. The euro firmed to 130.55
yen <EURJPY=>, from a trough around 127.95.
The single currency was steady on the dollar around $1.3995
<EUR=>, in the middle of a range that has held for over a
month. Against a basket of major currencies, the U.S. dollar
<.DXY> was down 0.06 percent at 80.083.
Investors are now awaiting data on U.S. retail sales and
producer prices later on Tuesday. Sales are seen rising 0.4
percent in June, and by 0.5 percent excluding autos.
"We expect most indicators should continue to show less
negative to slightly positive growth, reflecting the
slow-moving recovery underway," said Merrill Lynch in a note to
clients.
(Writing by Wayne Cole; Editing by Kim Coghill)
