By Rafael Nam HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks rallied 3 percent to a one-month high on Wednesday amid hopes governments worldwide will bail out ailing industries and increase spending as they fight back against a deepening economic crisis. The White House and U.S. Congressional Democrats reached a tentative agreement on a bailout for beleaguered U.S. auto makers, while in Asia, hopes are rising for government-led help for key sectors such as technology. The measures are coming as central banks from the European Central Bank to the Federal Reserve are expected to continue cutting interest rates that are already at their lowest in years. Oil rebounded more than $1 to above $43 a barrel, after slumping on Tuesday, while assets which are seen as safer havens during volatile times, such as the Japanese yen, pulled back. "What we are seeing right now may be a gradual turnaround in global stocks as liquidity in financial markets is seen slowly improving, helped by the latest moves by governments," said Jun Ji-won, a market analyst at Kiwoom.Com Securities in Seoul. "Stabilization in foreign exchange is also helping." The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 3 percent as of 0415 GMT, after earlier hitting its highest level since November 12. Japan's Nikkei average .N225 gained 2.7 percent. The Asia-Pacific index is now up more than 20 percent since hitting a five-year low on November 21, but has still fallen by more than half this year. INDUSTRY SUPPORT Governments worldwide are looking to spend their way out of sharply slowing economic growth via various stimulus measures, while expectations are rising they will also step in to help sectors and companies in trouble. U.S. stock futures advanced after the White House and U.S. congressional Democrats reached an agreement in principle on a $15 billion proposal for bailout out U.S. auto makers, potentially staving off bankruptcies that would have roiled global markets. In Taiwan, struggling ProMOS (5387.TWO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the smallest of the local three DRAM memory chip makers, was said to have applied to the government for assistance, sending shares up 6.5 percent, while shares in South Korean rival Hynix Semiconductor Inc (000660.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) also rose on expectations it will receive a funding boost from shareholders. The rebound in global markets since their lows in late November are also coming amid a backdrop of falling interest rates and plunging commodity prices. The combined actions may be bearing fruit. Australia's consumer sentiment was surprisingly stronger than expected in December on the back of sharp falls in interest rates and petrol prices, according to data on Wednesday. Main indexes in South Korea .KS11 Taiwan .TWII and Hong Kong .HSI rose 3 percent or more each, with smaller gains seen in Australia and Singapore .

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