Asian shares advanced for a second consecutive session on Tuesday, led again by resource firms that could benefit from a sharp rebound in oil prices as Israel continued its attacks on Islamic group Hamas. Oil and gold gave up some of their recent gains, though analysts said prices could be underpinned in the short-term by the uncertainty in the Middle East. Those developments are also extending a rally in safe-haven government bonds, while hitting the U.S. dollar on worries about oil supplies. European shares were also set to rise, as most of the region's bourses head into the last full-day session of 2008. Trading was choppy ahead of the end of a year of unprecedented milestones. Japan's Nikkei average .N225 wrapped up 2008 on Tuesday, having posted its worst year on record after the financial crisis and surging yen drove the world's second-largest economy into recession. Still, 2008 is also ending with some measure of optimism that the worst may be behind, as those central banks that can are expected to continue slashing rates, while stimulus and spending measures could begin to revive anemic global growth. "2008 was the year of the serpent, everyone got bitten," said Paul Biddle, a fund manager with Souls Funds Management in Australia. "Next year has got to be better than this year. It's going to be a tough year ... but there will be some comeback in the market," he said. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.6 percent as of 1:40 a.m. EST following a continued rally in resource shares such as Chinese offshore oil producer CNOOC (0883.HK). The index is still down more than 50 percent for 2008, on track for its worst year on record, although the index has risen more than 25 percent since a five-year low hit in late November. Helping drive the rally has been the measures undertaken by policy makers worldwide. The U.S. government on Monday expanded its bailout of the auto industry with $6 billion in support for General Motors' (GM.N) finance arm, while a Japanese newspaper said the country is considering a $110 billion scheme to buy bad loans and other financial assets from banks. Signs are also emerging that foreign investors are coming back to Asia. South Korea's main index experienced its first month of net foreign buying in six months in December. Still, the stream of bleak economic data continues unabated after South Korea said industrial output in November registered its biggest monthly percentage drop since August 1987. South Korea's KOSPI pared gains following its industrial output data, though it still ended up 0.6 percent, while Australia's main index .AXJO rose 0.9 percent.

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