GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks sceptical of latest Wall St bounce

                                
 By Tom Miles
                                
 HONG KONG, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Asian shares edged higher on
Tuesday after the latest bounce on Wall Street failed to dispel
fears about a U.S. recession, while supply worries kept
commodity prices high.
                                
 Global investors are alert for any sign of further fallout
from the subprime mortgage crisis which could weaken the
financial sector and are worried about a possible downgrade of
U.S. bond insurers, so-called monolines such as MBIA Inc
<MBI.N>.
                                
 "There's been talk for a long time that a (credit) rate cut
decision on the monoline firms was due in mid-February, and
we're almost there now," said Nagayuki Yamagishi, a strategist
at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
                                
 "Even though people know this is likely to happen, and
when, the fact is that there is still quite a lot of worry out
there about the issue."
                                
 The grim stock market mood has given Japanese government
bonds [JP/] some support, but buyers were reluctant to jump
into bonds before the March 31 fiscal year end, dealers said.
                                
 MSCI's index of Asian stocks outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS>
was up 0.5 percent at 0230 GMT, while the Tokyo market, back
from a holiday on Monday, nudged 0.1 percent higher.
                                
 Global equities lost $5.2 trillion in January, according to
Standard & Poors, and last week the Dow Jones industrial
average <.DJI> had its worst week in almost five years.
                                
 But the U.S. index bounced 0.5 percent on Monday, as
General Motors Corp <GM.N> surged 5 percent on positive broker
comments and oil stocks Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> and Chevron
Corp <CVX.N> gained from an oil price rally.
                                
 COMMODITIES STRONG
                                
 U.S. crude <CLc1> hit $94.72 a barrel, the highest since
Jan. 10, before settling at $93.59. It slipped a further 24
cents to $93.35 in early Asian trade.
                                
 Oil prices jumped nearly after Venezuela, which is the
fourth biggest supplier of crude to the United States and in a
legal battle with Exxon, threatened to halt sales to the United
States.
                                
 Supply problems have also fuelled other commodities, such
as platinum <XPT=>, a vital ingredient in catalytic converters
which reduce vehicle exhaust fumes. It hit a fresh fresh record
high on Tuesday due to lingering supply concerns in South
Africa, which produces some 80 percent of the world's metal.
                                
 Currency market movements were muted, with U.S. stock gains
helping the dollar shake off some recent losses, while the euro
struggled on uncertainty about possible European Central Bank
interest rate cuts to ward off a slowing global economy in the
coming months.
                                
 The dollar was trading at 106.9 yen <JPY=> while the euro
was at $1.4518 <EUR=>.
                                
 SMOULDERING FEAR
                                
 The fear of a U.S. recession has continued to smoulder
despite repeated official reassurances.
                                
 "I think the best bet is that we will not have a
recession," St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William
Poole said on Monday, later adding: "There is no question that
the odds (of recession) are higher than they used to be."
[ID:nN11160791]
                                
 And Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the Eurogroup meetings
of euro zone finance ministers and the European Central Bank,
was quoted on Monday as saying top finance ministers had agreed
to take collective measures to calm financial markets if there
were irrational price movements.
                                
 But financial sector worries sparked anew after the
auditors of American International Group Inc <AIG.N>, the
world's largest insurer, warned about further losses on U.S.
mortgages, knocking 12 percent off its shares. [ID:nN11631855]
                                
 The news hit Asian financial firms, with Japan's Millea
Holdings <8766.T> was down 4.5 percent, and No. 2 bank Mizuho
Financial Group <8411.T> down 1.8 percent.
                                
 However, Yahoo Japan Corp <4689.T> was up 1 percent after
Yahoo Inc <YHOO.O> rejected Microsoft Corp's <MSFT.O> takeover
bid as too low, raising the possibility of a higher offer
[ID:nN11617754].
                                
 Taiwan stocks <.TWII>, back after a week-long Lunar New
Year holiday, fell 1.3 percent in a catch up with recent global
falls, while declines in banks and retailers on fears of higher
interest rates weighed in Australiax <.AXJO>.
 (Additional reporting by Elaine Lies in TOKYO, Kim Soyoung in
SEOUL; Editing by Lincoln Feast)