* MSCI Asia-Pacific index up 2 pct, Nikkei gains 0.5 pct
* Spreadbetters expect European stocks to open higher
* Crude sags after Saudi Arabia says it can increase supply
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Asian stocks turned up on Wednesday as fresh signs of stimulus from China propped up sentiment despite Wall Street's overnight losses, while crude oil approached two-month lows after Saudi Arabia flagged possible supply increases.
Spreadbetters expected European stocks to open higher, with Britain's FTSE .FTSE rising 0.85 percent, Germany's DAX .GDAXI gaining 1 percent and France's CAC .FCHI advancing 1.2 percent.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was last up 0.2 percent following a decline of more than 2 percent in the previous session.
Global stocks had suffered this week on worries about U.S. earnings, Italian government finances, U.S. trade tensions and mounting pressure on Saudi Arabia over the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Saudi Arabia's diplomatic standing looked increasingly precarious as Turkey dismissed the kingdom's efforts to blame Khashoggi's death on rogue operatives while U.S. President Donald Trump said Riyadh staged the "worst cover-up ever." Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.25 percent while the volatile Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC was last up 1 percent, supported by fresh signs of government support. .SS Korea's KOSPI .KS11 was 0.3 percent lower and Japan's Nikkei .N225 added 0.5 percent.
Wall Street's three major indexes slumped early on Tuesday but ended well off the day's lows as investors snapped up beaten-down shares late in the session. .N
"Broader market sentiment remains fragile, but as last night's resilience by Wall Street shows, sentiment has not broken down completely," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
"We may see more bouts of 'mini panic' until the U.S. midterm elections, but the bottom line is that the U.S. economy is in good shape and that should prevent sentiment from breaking down."
The dollar rebounded modestly against the safe-haven yen as risk aversion ebbed, rising 0.1 percent to 112.565 yen JPY= after falling below 112.00 overnight.
The U.S. currency was given a lift as the 10-year Treasury note yield US10YT=RR rebounded to 3.162 percent after stooping to a three-week low of 3.111 on Tuesday.
The Canadian dollar took in stride the sharp decline in oil and stood firm against its U.S. counterpart as investors maintained bets that the Bank of Canada (BoC) will hike interest rates later on Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar stood little changed at C$1.3081 per dollar CAD=D4 after gaining 0.1 percent the previous day.
"We do not believe that the declines in the markets so far are enough to dissuade either the Fed or the BoC from continuing to hike interest rates, as soon as today in the case of the BoC," wrote Carl Weinberg, chief international economist at High Frequency Economics.
"However, markets will start to rethink the need for tighter policy if global equity markets go off the rails."
China's yuan added to the previous day's modest gains and rose to 6.9367 per dollar in onshore trade CNY=CFXS , continuing its modest pull-back from a near two-year low of 6.9445 marked on Monday.
The pound was little changed at $1.2987 GBP=D4 and near a three-week trough of $1.2937 brushed overnight.
Sterling briefly gained half a percent against the dollar on Tuesday after a media report that the European Union could offer British Prime Minister Theresa May a UK-wide customs union to clinch a Brexit deal.
The pound's strength was fleeting, however, a sign the market remains unconvinced May can successfully sell any deal to her Conservative party colleagues and get it through parliament.
The euro was steady at $1.1463 EUR= after nudging up 0.05 percent the previous day.
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies .DXY was flat at 96.961 after posting a modest loss the previous day.
In commodities, U.S. crude futures CLc1 were 0.23 percent higher at $66.58 per barrel after dropping roughly 4 percent on Tuesday to a two-month low of $65.74.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 0.4 percent at $76.74 per barrel after sliding more than 4 percent the previous session to $75.88, their lowest since Sept. 7.
Crude slumped after Saudi Arabia said it could supply more crude quickly if needed, easing concerns ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran. O/R
The recent sell-off in global equities has also raised worries about slowing growth curbing demand for crude. (Editing by Sam Holmes & Shri Navaratnam)