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* MSCI Asia-Pacific Index up 0.75%, Nikkei up 1.3%
* Wall St Bounce helps, but trade war problems persist
* The dollar index peaks at 16 months after optimistic data in the United States
* Chart: Global exchange rates in 2018 tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, Oct. 31 (Reuters) – Asian stocks edged their 20-month lows on Wednesday as Wall Street bounced back, though investors remained cautious after a month of October marked by a sharp decline in global equity markets.
A convergence of factors ranging from Sino-US trade tensions to concerns about US corporate profits to the end of easy money in developing countries has caused volatility in financial markets in recent weeks.
The largest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific equities outside Japan rose 0.75%, but was still close to falling about 11% this month.
The index had fallen to its lowest level since February 2017 on Monday, with concerns over corporate earnings weighing heavily on US equities.
The three Wall Street stock indexes surged more than 1% on Tuesday, buoyed by strong growth in chip and transportation stocks, as investors took advantage of lower prices following the recent sharp sell-off.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1% and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.75%, with gains expected despite weak factory activity data for the month.
Australian equities rose by 0.3%, South Korea's KOSPI by 0.1% and Japan's Nikkei by 1.3%.
"The recent stock price slide was such that it had to invite buyers, as in the Japanese stock market," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management in Tokyo.
The MSCI AC World Index, which includes some large emerging markets in addition to developed markets, fell 8.5% this month and lost about $ 4 trillion. The MSCI World Index, narrower, was down 8.7% and lost $ 4.5 billion in October.
Ichikawa, Sumitomo's Mitsui Asset Management, said the market outlook was still gloomy, adding that the US-China trade line "will likely remain a cause for concern beyond the mid-term elections to the US." United States".
US President Donald Trump said Monday during an interview with Fox News that he thought there might be a trade deal with China. But he also added that he had new rates for billions of dollars, if an agreement was not possible.
In dollar terms, the dollar against a basket of six major currencies rose overnight and peaked at 97,054 in 16 months, after Tuesday's figures showed US consumer confidence to be at its highest level. in October for 18 years, suggesting that strong economic growth may continue in the near term.
The dollar hit a three-week high of 113,330 yen.
The yen's immediate attention has been given to the Bank of Japan's policy decision, which is due later in the day.
On Wednesday, the BOJ will maintain its stable monetary policy and maintain its optimistic outlook on the economic outlook, even as global trade frictions, growth concerns and unstable markets prevent it from achieving its objective of achieving the goal. inflation difficult to reach.
The euro has changed little at 1.1345 dollar after losing 0.25% the previous day. A dip below $ 1.1333 would bring the single currency to its lowest level since mid-August.
The Chinese yuan gained $ 6.9652 in onshore trade but remained close to the 10.9724 trough of the decade.
Fears of a slowdown in Chinese economic growth and a sharp escalation of the US-China trade war put pressure on the yuan.
The Australian dollar is down 0.3% to $ 0.7083, reflecting weak domestic data on inflation. The weak growth data of Chinese October factories in China also weighed on the Australian dollar.
Oil prices recovered slightly after posting signs of an increase in supply and collapsed to several month lows the day before. They feared that the growth of the world economy and the demand for fuel would be the first victims of the US-China trade war.
The US crude futures price rose 0.4% to 66.44 dollars a barrel after dropping to 65.33 dollars on Tuesday, its lowest level since mid-August.
Brent rose 0.53% to 76.31 dollars a barrel after falling 1.8% Tuesday. (Additional report of Swati Pandey in Sydney, edited by Shri Navaratnam)
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