* Concern that U.S. Congress may stall bailout plan
* Buffett to invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs
* Oil rises above $107 a barrel ahead of inventory data
By Alex Richardson
SINGAPORE, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Asian stock markets were
jittery on Wednesday, as fears that U.S. lawmakers will stall a
proposed $700 billion bailout of the battered financial sector
haunted investors and a firmer yen hurt Japanese exporters.
Shares in Honda Motor <7267.T> and Canon Inc. <7751.T> fell
nearly 4 percent, but financial shares gained in Sydney and
Hong Kong and U.S. Treasury yields rose after Warren Buffett
surprised the market with a $5 billion investment in Goldman
Sachs <GS.N>.
"Everybody is just following god, Warren Buffett has shown
the way," said Francis Lun, general manager with Fulbright
Securities in Hong Kong, as the move by the world's most famous
investor was taken as a sign their may now be value in the
beaten-down sector.
Japan's third-biggest bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
(SMFG) <8316.T> also planned to invest several billion dollars
in Goldman, according to the Kyodo news agency, though SMFG
said it had no plans to do so for now. SMFG shares added 2.2
percent.
Crude oil futures rose nearly 0.5 percent above $107 a
barrel, paring Tuesday's losses of nearly $3, ahead of U.S.
government inventory data expected to show declines in crude
and gasoline stocks.
Japan's Nikkei <> fell 1.2 percent in the morning
session, with car maker Honda down 3.7 percent and cameras and
copiers firm Canon losing 3.9 percent. Japanese markets had
been closed for a holiday on Tuesday, when Asian markets mostly
fell.
"We now have a delicate situation about whether the U.S.
Congress will approve the bailout plan and this is weighing on
the market," said Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities
at Nozomi Securities.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS>, which slumped to a 2-year low last week, was
up 0.6 percent at 0300 GMT.
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial
average <> and S&P 500 <.SPX> both losing around 1.5
percent, amid congressional wrangling over Treasury Secretary
Henry Paulson's plan to buy up toxic mortgage debt on financial
institutions' balance sheets in an effort to resolve the root
cause of the current financial crisis. []
BUFFETT BANK BOOST
But news that Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway <BRKa.N>
<BRKb.N> was investing in Wall Street's most powerful firm sent
U.S. index futures <SPc1> surging in extended trading.
Buffett's move also boosted Australia's financial sector,
with National Australia Bank <NAB.AX> up 4.6 percent and ANZ
Banking Group <ANZ.AX> gaining 2.3 percent, as the benchmark
S&P/ASX 200 index <> rose 0.9 percent.
In Hong Kong the financial sector led gains, with HSBC
<0005.HK> up 1.1 percent and ICBC <1398.HK> up 2.6 percent, as
the Hang Seng <> put on 1.9 percent.
South Korean stocks rose 1.2 percent, reversing early
losses as an anticipated announcement of government measures
against short-selling sent foreign investors who had been
betting on price falls scrambling to cover their positions.
The yen eased a little against a number of currencies as
the Buffett news stemmed some inflows into the Japanese
currency when Wall Street fell the previous day.
"We expected the yen to gain against its peers, drawing
support from the slip in Wall Street the previous day," said a
trader at a European bank. "However, various cross yen pairs
are being bought back in light of the Goldman news."
The dollar traded around 105.70 yen <JPY=> after hitting a
high of 105.90 yen. The euro advanced to 155.25 yen <EURJPY=R>.
The Australian dollar rose to around 88.20 yen <AUDJPY=>.
Gold <XAU=> fell after the dollar bounced on Tuesday,
continuing a strong negative correlation between the greenback
and dollar-denominated commodities that has been in place for
several months.
Base metals also fell, with Shanghai aluminium futures
slipping 1.8 percent to a four year low on concerns over
swelling stockpiles and worries China's smelters will continue
to churn out metal despite weak demand.
U.S. crude for November delivery was up 47 cents at $107.08
a barrel. Losses on Tuesday had followed a record surge of
nearly 16 percent in the now expired October contract on
Monday.
A Reuters poll of analysts predicted U.S. inventory data
due later would show a fall of 2 million barrels in crude
stocks.
Ten-year U.S. Treasury notes <US10YT=RR> fell in price in
Asian trade, pushing yields up to 3.824 percent from 3.803
percent late in New York on Tuesday.
(Additional reporting by Parvathy Ullatil in HONG KONG;
Editing by Lincoln Feast)
