(Updates with European outlook, fresh prices, quotes)
By Tom Miles
HONG KONG, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Most Asian stock markets rose
on Friday after one of their worst months on record as concerns
eased about the outlook for top bond insurers hit by the U.S.
subprime mortgage crisis and credit-related losses.
The dollar steadied near an all-time low against the euro
as markets awaited U.S. jobs data for a further steer on
whether a recession will hit the U.S. economy following a
succession of weak indicators.
But stocks began February brightly, pushing MSCI's index of
non-Japan Asia <.MIAPJ0000PUS> up 1.7 percent by 0623 GMT,
although markets in China and Japan remained weak.
Financial bookmakers said major European stock markets were
expected to open 0.2-0.9 percent higher.
"There is a perception that markets have already reached
troughs and are cheap, but on the other hand, nobody is sure
about how much further the U.S. economy will deteriorate. So it
will be difficult for markets to move in either direction in
February," said Samuel So, an analyst at Samsung Securities in
Seoul.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index <> led the pack in Asia,
closing up 3.4 percent. Investors scrambled for rival miners
BHP Billiton Ltd <BHP.AX> and Rio Tinto <RIO.AX> with only two
full sessions before BHP's deadline to launch a formal bid for
Rio.
"It would be embarrassing for BHP to walk away after having
put so much effort into it," said Peter Chilton, an investment
bank analyst with Constellation Capital Management.
Recently battered banks and property trusts also rebounded.
The financial sector won a reprieve late on Thursday when
MBIA Inc <MBI.N>, the top U.S. bond insurer, said it had enough
cash to run its business of guaranteeing payments on corporate
and municipal bonds, dispelling fears about its credit rating
and pushing the Dow Jones industrial average <> up 1.7
percent.
But Wall Street's gains could not salvage the Dow's worst
January since 2000, and since 1990 for the Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX>. It was also the worst January ever for the
Nasdaq Composite Index <>, down 9.9 percent on the month.
HAUNTED MARKET
With the spectre of a U.S. recession haunting the market,
investors were also cautious about U.S. jobs data and a reading
of factory activity later in the day, fearful that more signs
of economic decay could spark another downward jolt in stock
prices.
Traders are looking to the numbers to help them decide
whether to keep dumping the dollar, which last month hit its
lowest in nearly three years against the yen <JPY=>.
[]
"Basically, the payrolls figures must be very strong to
spur any significant dollar buying," said Hideaki Inoue, a
forex manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking.
Thursday's fresh concerns over the U.S. financial sector
spurred safety bids for U.S. Treasuries, with Japanese
government bond futures following suit on Friday.
But gains were limited as many investors stayed on the
sidelines before the U.S. economic data.
"At least for February, it's hard to think of reasons for
bonds to come under selling pressure," said Hiroki Shimazu,
market economist for Mizuho Securities, referring to the
outlook for Treasuries.
Apart from the uncertainty over U.S. bond insurers, market
players were awaiting earnings announcements by major European
banks coming up in February, Shimazu said.
The dollar hovered around 106.4 yen, little changed from
late New York trade, when it slipped as far as 105.71 yen,
while the euro was little changed at $1.4865.
Japan's Nikkei 225 <> closed down 0.7 percent, with
Sony Corp <8411.T> stumbling on a lower profit forecast and a
downgrade from HSBC [], and Mizuho Financial Group
<8411.T> losing 5 percent because of ballooning subprime
losses.
Japan's enthusiasm wilted further at the sight of a sharp
fall in Shanghai's SSE Composite <>, where a $3.6 billion
listing by China Coal <601898.SS> made a lacklustre impression
by adding a lower-than-expected 30 percent to its starting
price.
U.S. economic worries have also battered oil prices <CLc1>.
Crude fell by more than $1 to below $91 a barrel in Asian
trade, with an OPEC meeting later on Friday expected to give
consumer nations no respite from high prices.
Gold <XAU=> traded around $926 an ounce, down from
Tuesday's record high above $933, while platinum held near its
record peak of $1,741 an ounce as investors believe the worst
is far from over in main producer South Africa's power crisis.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies and Masayuki Kitano in
TOKYO, Denny Thomas and Sonali Paul in SYDNEY; Editing by
Lincoln Feast)
