Markets rise after Wall Street rebound

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks rebounded on Monday after four straight weeks of losses, with investors buying beaten-down banks as well as some of the region's top exporters, encouraged by a robust start to the U.S. holiday shopping period.

Last Friday, also known as Black Friday, marked the first official day of the shopping season in the United States, where more than 147 million shoppers flocked to stores over the four-day Thanksgiving holiday. But the average consumer spending fell, a retailers' group said on Sunday.

"A better Black Friday, which lifted U.S. stocks, boosted sentiment and the market is likely to show a strong rebound," said Choo Hee-yeop, deputy general manager at asset management strategy department of Korea Investment and Securities.

At 0026 GMT, Tokyo's Nikkei average had climbed 0.7 percent, while MSCI's measure of other Asia Pacific stocks put on 1.2 percent, recovering from last week's 4.7 percent drop -- its fourth-straight weekly decline.

The MSCI index, while still up 29 percent this year, has fallen about 13 percent from the November 1 peak, on growing worries that a deep U.S. housing slump and credit losses suffered by major U.S. banks could hurt the region's top export destination.

Elsewhere, South Korea's KOSPI gained 1.9 percent and Australia's key S&P/ASX 200 index added 1.6 percent.

Investors bought major exporters on hopes that U.S. consumers will remain resilient, sending Canon Inc, Sony Corp and Hyundai Motor, all more than 1 percent higher.

Banks, hit hard by fears of credit losses, were also in favor with gains seen nearly across the board. Australia's Macquarie Group, South Korea's Kookmin Bank and Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ (8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) all gained ground.

Major miners were on the rebound after the recent selloff, with BHP Billiton climbing 3.6 percent, take-over target Rio Tinto up 7.2 percent and Korea Zinc 4.6 percent higher.