By Rafael Nam

Some regional bonds, seen as safer bets in volatile times, gained in a sign of the concerns about risk. The euro recovered after hitting a one-month low against the dollar on Tuesday, but gains were limited ahead of an expected interest rate cut by the European Central Bank on Thursday.

European shares were set to gain in tandem with Asian counterparts though advances may be capped by worries over what could be a difficult earnings reporting season.

Weak economic data and a bleak outlook for quarterly results has hampered what had been a promising start to the year, though the continued flood of new corporate bond sales globally at least points to some investors' willingness to take on risk.

"We know the outlook is awful, but then we know that the market has priced in a very bleak scenario. So you've got this tug-of-war that occurs between the bad news and the deep valuation (discount)," said Lee Mickelburough, a partner at Perennial Growth Management in Australia.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> advanced 2.2 percent by 0640 GMT (1:40 a.m. EST), rebounding from a 9 percent loss over the previous five sessions.

The index remains down around 2.5 percent for the year.

Concerns about the global economy remain. Data on Tuesday showed U.S. imports fell a record 12 percent in November, a bad omen for global companies that rely on U.S. consumers to power earnings.

Corporate earnings are being hit across the world, resulting in job cuts that could further cripple consumer spending. South Korea suffered its first monthly net job loss in more than five years in December, data on Wednesday showed.

Some companies may have to cut dividends to conserve capital. Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd said on Wednesday it was considering that option, sending shares down 2.9 percent.

Still, Asian shares posted gains on Wednesday, as some investors saw recent steep declines in shares such as Sony Corp <6758.T> as overdone.

The Nikkei average <.N225> advanced 0.3 percent, recovering from its near-5 percent drop on Tuesday.

Talk of asset sales and acquisitions boosted some shares. Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> gained 3.5 percent after sources told Reuters that Chrysler is in talks to sell key assets to Renault-Nissan and auto supplier Magna.

News that Toshiba Corp <6502.T> was in talks to buy Fujitsu Ltd's <6702.T> hard-disk drive business in a deal reportedly worth $340-450 million sent both up over 5 percent.

Shares in Hong Kong <.HSI>, Shanghai <.SSEC> and India <.BSESN> gained 2-3 percent each, while indexes in South Korea <.KS11> and Singapore <.FTSTI> advanced over 1 percent each.

Markets in Australia <.AXJO> rose 0.9 percent, with Taiwan <.TWII> posting a modest loss.

NO CERTAINTY

Fears of an economic downturn have also dented commodities given expectations for reduced demand.

U.S. crude oil futures rose $1.35 to $39.15 a barrel as OPEC kept up its talk of production cuts and a cold snap in the United States boosted heating oil demand.

Crude prices have plunged more than $110 since hitting a record high just under $150 a barrel in July.

Encouraged by falling inflation, central banks are cutting interest rates, and policy makers are implementing big stimulus plans to resuscitate economic growth.

The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates on Thursday by 50 basis points from the current 2.5 percent, which remains higher than the near-zero rates in the United States and Japan.

The euro rose to $1.3279, up 0.8 percent from late New York trade, after hitting a one-month low of $1.3140 on trading platform EBS the previous day.

Against the yen, the single currency gained 1 percent to 119.20 yen. It had fallen as low as 117.13 yen on EBS on Tuesday, the lowest since early December.

The lack of certainty is being reflected by the continued gains in government debt despite yields at their lowest in years.

Australian three-year bond futures added 0.005 points to 96.85, but eased off an all-time high of 96.88 points, while 10-year bond futures fell 0.025 points to 96.015, off a record high of 96.065 points.

Still there are also signs that investors are willing to add risk in the hunt for higher yield, as evidenced by the surge in global corporate debt issuance this month, both from government-backed lenders and non-financial firms.

European credit markets were on track to set a record for supply in January, with more than 14 billion euros worth of non-financial euro-denominated investment-grade bonds sold. That approaches the record 25 billion euros raised in January 2003.

(Editing by Lincoln Feast)