* Asia stocks rise 0.3 pct on economic recovery prospects
* Longest string of gains since global equity bull run
began
* Greece debt problems linger in the background
* Quadruple witching in U.S. may cause some volatility
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, March 19 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose for a
sixth straight week on Friday, their longest string of weekly
gains since a global bull market began a year ago, with
consumer-related shares leading the way on hopes of a steady
economic recovery.
Major European stock markets <> were expected to open
as much as 0.4 percent higher, following gains in U.S. and
Asian markets, according to financial bookmakers.
U.S. labour and inflation reports overnight supported the
prevailing view that monetary policy will stay growth-friendly
and liquidity will remain abundant while investor confidence
builds, helping Wall Street stocks to an eighth day of gains.
Investors have been pulling cash out of low-yielding money
markets at a record pace and pouring it into stocks and bonds
in search of higher returns. []
However, the two biggest uncertainties in investors' minds
-- Greece's debt crisis and inflation in China -- lingered.
"Greece's woes are one of the factors that will continue to
keep a lid on the global markets, but on the other hand, many
investors don't seem to expect the most devastating outcome,"
said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities
in Tokyo.
The Greek finance ministry denied a media report on
Thursday that said the heavily indebted country was planning on
going to the International Monetary Fund for aid in early
April. []
Japan's Nikkei share average <> rose 0.8 percent, led
by big exporters such as Canon Inc <7751.T> and Honda Motor
<7267.T>, which gained 2.4 percent and 1.9 percent,
respectively.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 0.31 percent on the day. It looked set
to rise for a sixth consecutive week, the longest string of
gains since March-April 2009, when a global equity rally began.
Thailand chalked up the biggest equity gains in the region
on Friday, with foreign investors strongly attracted to the
value and growth potential of the market despite persistent
political uncertainty. The benchmark SETI <> rose 1.2
percent and is on track to close at its highest level since
July 2008.
In South Korea, shares of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd
<005930.KS> were up 0.9 percent after Asia's biggest technology
firm said it was targeting double-digit sales growth in 2010
and planned for capital spending to increase this year.
"The global economy is likely to sustain its growth
momentum this year, helped by economic stimulus measures taken
worldwide...but we see increased competition, which will
toughen our business outlook," said Choi Gee-sung, who took
over as Samsung's chief executive in December.
The expiration of U.S. stock index futures, stock index
options, stock options and individual stock futures, known as
the quadruple witching, may cause very low volatility to
increase in the final hour of trading on Wall Street on Friday.
Traders will have to settle contracts or roll them over.
The euro was steady at $1.3615 <EUR=> after dropping
overnight on fears that Greece's fiscal crisis may be a
harbinger of what is in store for other weaker economies in
Europe. The dollar inched up 0.1 percent to 90.45 yen <JPY=>.
U.S. oil futures <CLc1> slid 0.3 percent to $81.95 a
barrel, with expectations that the U.S. dollar would keep
appreciating weighing on crude prices.
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi in TOKYO)
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
