* MSCI Asia Pacific ex Japan stocks index up for 6th day
* Data point to long, deep recession in Japan
* 10-year U.S. Treasury yield sinks further below 3 pct
(Repeats to additional subscribers with no change to text)
(Recasts, updates prices, adds European outlook)
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose for a sixth
consecutive day on Friday, led by commodity-related shares in
Hong Kong and Australia as bargain-hunting investors hoped
policy changes would eventually drive up demand for raw
materials.
Still, global equity markets were set for a record sixth
consecutive losing month, with sentiment hurt by weakening
economies in China and Japan as well as simmering political
risks in India, where the end of a siege in Mumbai appeared
imminent, and Thailand, where the prime minister has declared a
state of emergency at Bangkok airports overtaken by protesters.
Stock markets in Britain were set to open as much as 1.4
percent higher, while France and Germany was seen 0.5 to 1
percent lower, according to financial bookmakers, as investors
weighed value against grim economic prospects.
"On a range of measures, there is undoubted value to be
found in many of the world's equity markets," said Sarah Arkle,
chief investment officer with Threadneedle Asset Management.
"However, with economic and earnings expectations in a
state of flux, there are also significant risks," Arkle said in
a note on the outlook for 2009.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell
further below 3 percent, the lowest in at least five decades,
as dealers anticipated a deep and lasting U.S. recession. The
cost of insurance against a U.S. government debt default, an
unthinkable event, hit record highs on Thursday, as concern
grows about the scale of programs to prop up the financial
system.
Japan's Nikkei share average <> ended 1.7 percent
higher. Some stocks in the technology sector, such as Kyocera
Corp <6971.T>, whose shares were benefiting after the company
said it would buy back its own shares, pushed the index higher
for a second day.
However, shares of Panasonic Corp <6752.T>, the world's
largest plasma TV maker, dove 11 percent after it slashed its
net profit forecast for the current business year by 90
percent.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside of Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> climbed 2 percent, putting it on track for a
sixth day of gains. The index was still locked in a steep
downward trend that has knocked it down about 57 percent so far
this year.
The all-country world stocks index <.MIWD00000PUS> was down
7.3 percent in November, having dropped every month since May.
That is the longest string of monthly losses since the index
was launched in 1988.
Companies involved with commodity production, such as
mining firm BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> and offshore oil specialist
CNOOC <0883.HK>, rallied after aggressive interest rate cuts in
China and rescue packages in Europe and the United States made
investors more confident industrial demand would rebound.
Australia's benchmark share index <> rose 9.5 percent
in the week to Friday, its biggest ever weekly gain, while Hong
Kong's Hang Seng index <> climbed 9.4 percent in the week.
SOUTHERN ASIAN RISKS
Indian stocks were little changed and the rupee fell
sharply against the dollar as the end to a siege in Mumbai
between police and Islamist gunmen who killed at least 121
people appeared to be imminent.
The rupee weakened to 49.84 per dollar <INR=> compared with
48.78 late on Thursday. The record low for the rupee was within
reach at around 50.57, according to Reuters data.
Thailand's benchmark equity index <> was up 1.1
percent, suggesting investor sentiment was not completely
soured by political instability in Bangkok. However, the index
was down 1.5 percent this week, underperforming the 8 percent
rise in the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index <.MIASJ0000PUS>.
Escalating tension with anti-government protesters, the
People's Alliance for Democracy, who have paralysed Bangkok's
two airports, has increased the risk of a sharper slowdown in
Thai economic growth and raised questions about the southeast
Asian country as an investment destination.
"The economic impact of the latest clash is negative," said
economists with Standard Chartered. "The weaker growth outlook
and wider current account deficit will continue to soften the
Thai baht gradually in coming months," they said in a note.
Investors are likely to keep an eye out for indications on
what is traditionally the busiest U.S. shopping day of the
year, the Friday after Thanksgiving. Some retailers have
already offered heavily discounted prices to shoppers to lure
them ahead of what is expected to be a disastrous holiday sales
season. []
The yen, which has consistently been a haven for investors
throughout the financial crisis, was steady against the U.S.
dollar in thin trade.
The dollar traded at 95.27 yen <JPY=>, down slightly from
late European trade on Thursday.
The euro edged up to around 123.80 yen <EURJPY=R> and
climbed modestly against the dollar to $1.2940 <EUR=> from
$1.2905 overnight.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield <US10YT=RR>,
which moves in the opposite direction of the price, was at 2.93
percent, having plummeted more than 90 basis points in the last
two weeks.
(Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)
