SINGAPORE (Reuters) - European stocks were poised to follow Asian shares higher on Wednesday as investors hunted for bargains, while the euro edged up against the dollar as traders covered some bets against the common currency following a sharp overnight fall. The constellation of asset price action reflected risk taking among investors, who had been mostly driven for the past few weeks by fears that still lingered about a euro zone break up and global recession. The Australian dollar rallied 1 percent, climbing above $1.06, U.S. Treasury yields edged higher and gold tumbled on a sudden large sell order in thin trading conditions. The Swiss franc, which had been along with gold the safe haven of choice for investors, kept to a relatively tight trading range above 1.2000 per euro, the day after the Swiss central bank said it would buy foreign currencies in "unlimited quantities" to enforce a cap on the currency versus the euro. "The stock market is rebounding after steep declines in recent days, but the situation has not changed and volatility remains high," said Korea Investment Trust Management fund manager Kim Young-il in Seoul. "Uncertainty is high about the direction of the U.S. economy, and uncertainty is even higher in Europe as investors are not sure whether the bloc is going in the right direction." Japan's Nikkei share average .N225 rose 2.0 percent, coming off a two-and-a-half year closing low on Tuesday, and MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS gained 2.3 percent. The biggest gainers in the MSCI index were the tech and materials sectors, as electronics exporters such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS: Quote) and miners like Australia's BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote) posted strong gains. Continued...

Source