* Stock markets edge up off earlier session lows
* Oil prices fall back as Kuwait strike ends
* But supportive ECB seen likely to prop up markets
By Sudip Kar-Gupta
LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - Stocks markets stabilised on
Wednesday as expectations of support from the European Central
Bank offset a decline in the price of oil.
Oil prices fell as worries after Kuwaiti workers ended a
three-day strike that had halved the nation's crude output
O/R . That revived the bearish mood brought last weekend when
major producers failed to agree on a cut in output.
Global stock markets initially fell, but the FTSEurofirst
300 index .FTEU3 of top European shares recovered to edge into
positive territory.
U.S. equity futures ESc1 1YMM6 also rose. The MSCI
All-Country World index .MIWD00000PUS was flat.
The ECB is not expected to make any policy changes at its
meeting on Thursday. But it is expected to reiterate its plans
to support the euro zone economy, which was enough to steady
markets, analysts said.
"Investors have realised that the Doha meeting was a flop.
Nevertheless, one cannot deny that buying momentum in stock
markets remains present, which should prevent equity indexes
from losing too much ground," said Mirabaud Securities' senior
equity sales trader John Plassard.
"This should be even more evident given the ECB meeting
tomorrow which could again keep up that momentum," he added.
Commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian and
Canadian dollars also approached recent peaks on Wednesday while
German bund yields dipped. FRX/ GVD/EUR
"Bund auctions are usually an accident-prone event, but
today there are no signs of any risks whatsoever and that's
certainly encouraging heading into the ECB meeting," said David
Schnautz, a Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) interest rate strategist.