* Portugal bailout appears likely after PM resigns
* Nikkei down 0.2 percent, MSCI Asia ex-Japan up 0.7 percent
* U.S. stocks rise modestly on back of base metals gains
* Euro falls below $1.41, yen sits around 81 per dollar
* Oil eases 0.3-0.5 percent, gold steady near record
By Alex Richardson
SINGAPORE, March 24 (Reuters) - The euro was under pressure
on Thursday after Portugal's prime minister resigned following
parliament's rejection of his austerity plans, while Asian
stocks outside Japan rose as higher commodities prices lifted
materials shares.
The resignation of Prime Minister Jose Socrates was seen as
increasing the likelihood that Portugal will join Greece and
Ireland in requiring a bailout from the European Union.
An official euro zone source estimated in January that if
Portugal asked for international aid, it might need between 60
billion to 80 billion euros (up to $113 billion).
Tokyo's Nikkei fell 0.2 percent. It remains 8
percent below its close on March 11, when a 9.0 magnitude
earthquake and tsunami hit northeast Japan, leaving around
25,600 people dead or missing and cutting powers to millions of
homes and factories
The estimated $300 billion in damage makes it the costliest
natural disaster in history, and Japan is still grappling with
the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl after the quake and
tsunami crippled a power plant 240 km (150 miles) north of
Tokyo.
"We are unlikely to see further gains in the near future,
unless there's an end to the nuclear crisis in sight," said
Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex Securities.
Disruptions in the global supply chain after the Japan quake
continue to be felt around the world, most notably for auto
makers and electronics firms. Toyota Motor said
overnight it will slow some North American production because of
parts shortages.
MSCI's measure of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan
rose 0.7 percent, with Australia's
resources-heavy index gaining 0.8 percent after a rally
in prices of base metals such as copper.
Gains for materials shares lifted Wall Street on Wednesday,
with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 0.6 percent
and the broader S&P 500 gaining 0.3 percent.
DEBT CRISIS
The political upheaval in Portugal, along with looming
elections elsewhere, was expected to prevent European leaders
from taking tough decisions to address the region's sovereign
debt crisis when they meet at a summit this week.
Instead, they are unlikely to come up with a plan to
strengthen the euro zone's bailout fund until June, which may
also undermine the single currency.
"If the EU leaders fail to come up with measures to enhance
the safety net that markets have wanted in their summit meeting,
the euro could face further pressure down the road," said Sumino
Kamei, senior currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
The euro bought around $1.4085 , having dropped as far
as $1.4075 on electronic trading platform EBS in late New York
trade on Wednesday.
The yen sat near 81 per dollar, a level it has hugged
tightly in recent days with markets still wary of further
central bank intervention to curb the Japanese currency if it
strengthens past 80.50.
Leading central banks launched the first coordinated market
intervention in more than a decade last week to reverse a run
that had seen the yen hit a record 76.25 on expectations Japan
-- a net creditor to the rest of the world -- would see a wave
of funds being repatriated to pay for earthquake reconstruction.
Oil eased despite continued political unrest in parts of the
Middle East, with U.S. crude down 0.5 percent to $105.24
a barrel and Brent crude off 0.3 percent at $115.19.
Spot gold traded around $1,437.35 an ounce, in sight
of its record $1,444.40 set earlier in the month.
($1 = 0.707 Euros)
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
