* Asian financials rise, European markets seen mixed
* Buffett to invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs
* Concern that U.S. Congress may stall bailout plan
* Oil rises towards $107 a barrel ahead of inventory data
By Alex Richardson
SINGAPORE, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Asian financial shares and
U.S. stock futures rose on Wednesday after Warren Buffett
surprised the market with a $5 billion investment in Goldman
Sachs <GS.N>.
Firmer stocks knocked some of the safe-haven premium off
U.S. Treasuries and the dollar inched down against the euro as
fears continued to grip investors that U.S. lawmakers will
stall a proposed $700 billion bailout of the battered financial
sector.
"The market is still nervous about the outcome of the
proposed U.S. plan as politics seems to be making the deal more
complicated," said Ryuji Shimai, a market analyst at Shinko
Securities in Tokyo.
European markets were seen opening mixed, as Buffett's vote
of confidence in Wall Street banks competed for attention with
uncertainty over the U.S. bailout plan and business sentiment
surveys due in France, Italy and Germany.
Spreadbetters saw London's FTSE 100 <> opening 8 to 19
points higher and Frankfurt's DAX <> 15 to 25 points
higher, while the French CAC 40 <> was seen down 5 to 9
points.
Crude oil futures edged up towards $107 a barrel, paring
Tuesday's losses of nearly $3, ahead of U.S. government
inventory data expected to show declines in crude and gasoline
stocks.
Japan's Nikkei <> gained 0.2 percent, while MSCI's
index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS>,
which slumped to a two-year low last week, was up 0.3 percent
at 0605 GMT.
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial
average <> and S&P 500 <.SPX> both losing around 1.5
percent, amid congressional wrangling over Treasury Secretary
Henry Paulson's plan to buy up toxic mortgage debt on financial
institutions' balance sheets in an effort to resolve the root
cause of the current financial crisis. []
"FOLLOWING GOD"
But news that Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway <BRKa.N>
<BRKb.N> was investing in Wall Street's most powerful firm sent
U.S. index futures <SPc1> surging as much as 23 points.
Buffett's move also boosted Australia's financial sector,
with National Australia Bank <NAB.AX> up 6.2 percent and ANZ
Banking Group <ANZ.AX> gaining 3.1 percent, as the benchmark
S&P/ASX 200 index <> rose 1 percent.
In Hong Kong the financial sector also led gains, with
China Life <2628.HK> up 2.8 percent and ICBC <1398.HK> up 2.4
percent, as the Hang Seng Index <> put on 0.8 percent.
"Everybody is just following god, Warren Buffett has shown
the way," said Francis Lun, general manager with Fulbright
Securities, as the move by the world's most famous investor was
taken as a sign there may now be value in the beaten-down
sector.
Japan's third-biggest bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
(SMFG) <8316.T> also planned to invest several billion dollars
in Goldman, according to the Kyodo news agency, though SMFG
said it had no plans to do so for now. SMFG shares added 2.1
percent.
South Korean stocks rose 0.9 percent, reversing early
losses as an anticipated announcement of government measures to
curb short-selling sent foreign investors who had been betting
on price falls scrambling to cover their positions.
The dollar trimmed gains versus the yen on uncertainty
about the effectiveness of the U.S. bailout plan.
The U.S. currency has retreated against the yen and euro
this month as the crisis in the financial sector gathered pace,
highlighted by last week's collapse of Lehman Brothers
<LEHMQ.PK> and the $85 billion rescue of insurance giant AIG
<AIG.N>.
The dollar rose 0.1 percent to 105.64 yen <JPY=>, off a
session high of 105.90 yen. The euro advanced 0.3 percent to
$1.4687 <EUR=> after a low of $1.4636.
"The main focus is on whether the U.S. Congress will
approve the rescue plan within the week, and whether the plan
functions as hoped if passed," said Tomoko Fujii, head of
economics and strategy for Japan at Bank of America.
The gains in U.S. stock futures limited the safe-haven
appeal of government debt. Benchmark U.S. 10-year note
<US10YT=RR> fell 3/32 in price, pushing yields up to 3.816
percent from 3.803 percent late in New York on Tuesday.
Gold <XAU=> fell after the dollar bounced on Tuesday,
continuing a strong negative correlation between the greenback
and dollar-denominated commodities that has been in place for
several months.
Base metals also fell, with Shanghai aluminium futures
slipping 2.2 percent to a four-year low on concerns over
swelling stockpiles and worries China's smelters will continue
to churn out metal despite weak demand.
U.S. crude for November delivery was up 25 cents at $106.86
a barrel. Losses on Tuesday had followed a record surge of
nearly 16 percent in the now expired October contract on
Monday.
A Reuters poll of analysts predicted U.S. inventory data
due later would show a fall of 2 million barrels in crude
stocks.
(Additional reporting by Parvathy Ullatil in HONG KONG;
Editing by Jean Yoon)
