* Japan leads region's stock market gains
* China bucks trend as tension with U.S. weigh
* Low U.S. yields keep dollar under pressure
By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO, April 22 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Thursday,
extending a rebound in global markets following a sharp selloff
earlier this week, while oil prices eased again on worries that
rising COVID-19 cases in some countries will dampen fuel demand.
Japan led gains, with the Nikkei 225 .N225 rallying 2%,
after sliding about 2% in each of the last two sessions.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.3%, following a 0.9% decline the previous
day.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 0.5%, but mainland China
shares were weaker, weighed down by persistent worries over
Sino-U.S. tensions. Chinese blue chips .CSI300 slipped 0.1%.
European futures pointed to higher opens, with Euro Stoxx 50
futures STXEc1 and Britain's FTSE futures FFIc1 up 0.5%
each.
"Overall, I think markets are still skewed to taking on
risk, and I don't think we've seen the final record high by any
means in the U.S. stock market or in global equities," said Kyle
Rodda, a market analyst at IG in Melbourne.
"At the end of the day, (the selloff earlier this week) was
just markets whipping around as the froth has blown off risk
assets."
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
added 0.2% on Thursday, following a 0.4% gain overnight, to take
it back to within 1% of its all-time closing high.
On Tuesday, the index had slumped 0.8%, the most in four
weeks, as market sentiment soured amid concerns that record
coronavirus infections in India, likely restrictions in Japan
and rising cases in Latin America will hamper the global
economic recovery.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 .SPX rose 0.9%, reversing two
days of declines, to finish Wednesday's session just 12 points
below its record close.
S&P futures EScv1 pointed to a softer open later on
Thursday though, declining 0.2%.
"The 'Buy the dip' mentality appears to be back in
equities," Tapas Strickland, an analyst at National Australia
Bank, wrote in a client note.
Oil prices slipped for a third day on concerns that surging
COVID-19 cases in India will drive down fuel demand in the
world's third-biggest oil importer, while a surprise build in
U.S. stockpiles added to the negative tone.
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 29 cents on Thursday to $61.06 per
barrel and Brent LCOc1 was down 29 cents to $65.03.
Spot gold XAU= edged lower to $1,791.04 an ounce.
U.S. Treasury yields stayed depressed, with the yield on
benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR down 3 basis points at
1.5345% on Thursday, languishing near the lowest since March 12.
In currency markets, the dollar remained pinned near
multi-week lows against major peers as U.S. yields stayed
subdued.
The dollar stood at 107.935 yen JPY=EBS , close to a
seven-week low, while the euro EUR=EBS was quoted at $1.2034,
not far from its strongest since March 3.
The European Central Bank decides policy later on Thursday,
with no change expected.
The U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan follow next week.
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