* Positive global manufacturing data drives markets higher
* U.S. dollar steady; Aussie firm ahead of rate decision
* Asia-Pacific stocks ex Japan up 1.5 pct; off 3-mth low
* Toyota up 5.5 pct; Australian miners surge
By Dean Yates
SINGAPORE, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Asian shares rebounded on
Tuesday, led by resources stocks, after strong U.S.
manufacturing data raised hopes the global economic recovery
was on a firmer footing as governments move to withdraw
stimulus spending.
Japan's Nikkei stock average <> rose 1.88 percent
while resources firms such as Australian miners were among the
best performers in the region, bouyed by prospects for the
world economy and the outlook for oil and metals demand.
The U.S. dollar steadied, after falling away from six-month
highs on a basket of currencies, while the Australian dollar
<AUD=D4> retained broad gains ahead of a widely expected
interest rate hike later in the day.
The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index
showed U.S. factory activity grew in January at a faster rate
than expected, following similar surveys from China, Australia
and the euro zone. [] and []
Khiem Do, head of the Asia multi-asset group at Baring
Asset Management, which oversees $50 billion, said the key to
such positive data driving strong stock markets higher this
year would be final demand in the United States, Europe and
Japan.
"There is still a big question mark over that, which is why
I think we will continue to see volatility in terms of what
investors think about their growth prospects for this year," he
said, referring to the world's major industrialised regions.
The United States, Europe and Japan have been the slowest
to recover from the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and
government stimulus measures are still a key source of their
demand.
Much of the recent growth has come from emerging markets
such as China, India and Latin America.
Besides responding to the bullish global factory data,
Japan's benchmark Nikkei index got a boost from Toyota Motor
Corp <7203.T>, which rose 5.5 percent after it detailed plans
on Monday to fix nearly 4.5 million vehicles equipped with
faulty accelerators in North America and Europe.
[]
The jump in the world's top automaker comes after about an
18 percent tumble over the last seven business days.
Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan as measured by MSCI
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> were up 1.5 percent, climbing from 3-month
lows. The index lost 6.4 percent in January as a host of
unsettling factors prompted investors to take profits after a
68 percent rally in 2009.
MSCI's Asia exJapan resources index was up 3 percent, the
biggest contributor to the rise in Asian shares. BHP Billiton
Ltd <BHP.AX>, the world's top miner, jumped 3.1 percent while
Rio Tinto Ltd <RIO.AX> rallied 5 percent.
Shanghai <CMCU3> copper was expected to open sharply higher
on Tuesday, after a late turnaround in London copper on the
firm U.S. manufacturing data that saw the metal end up 0.7
percent.
YEN EASES
The yen was broadly lower as investor appetite for riskier,
higher-yielding assets improved just a little after the U.S.
data helped Wall Street stocks regain some ground [].
The dollar index <.DXY> <=USD>, a measure of the
greenback's performance against six major currencies, was down
0.35 percent at 79.182, off a high of 79.534, its strongest
since late July.
The Aussie dollar <AUD=D4> edged up to $0.8920, extending
gains made on Monday, ahead of a central bank rate decision at
0330 GMT.
All 20 economists polled by Reuters expect a 25 basis point
hike in the cash rate to 4 percent, with the market
<CSRBA=CSAU> pricing in a nearly a 80 percent chance of such a
move. [] [].
Crude oil futures <CLc1> rose half a percent or 42 cents to
$74.86 per barrel after gaining by more than $1 a barrel in New
York on Tuesday on optimism that the U.S. economy has turned
the corner.
Gold prices softened still hovered near $1,105 per ounce
after posting their biggest daily gain in three months in the
previous session boosted by the rally in oil, dollar weakness
and strong U.S. data.
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
