GLOBAL MARKETS-Buoyed by company earnings, world markets look past virus death toll

* Stock markets firmer, China futures rebound
* Bond yields, oil inch up, gold yen stabilise after bounce
* Fed expected to signal on-hold stance

(Updates throughout, changes byline, dateline)
By Sujata Rao
LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Global markets showed further
signs of stabilisation on Wednesday as investors looked past a
rising death toll from China's coronavirus outbreak to tiptoe
back into shares and out of safe-haven assets such as the yen
and German bonds.
World stocks were nearly flat despite a 3% fall in Hong Kong
.HSI , where trading restarted after the Lunar New Year
holiday, and remained just 2% off recent record highs
.MIWD00000PUS following Tuesday's bounce on Wall Street that
was aided by robust earnings from Apple AAP.L .
Of the 104 U.S.companies to report results so far, 68.3%
have topped expectations.
European shares .STOXX opened firmer after Tuesday's 0.8%
rise, which was driven by banks after encouraging results from
Spain's Santander SAN.MC , and Swedbank a day earlier .SX7P .
While mainland Chinese markets remain closed, Chinese equity
futures traded in Singapore SFCc1 rebounded from two days of
losses to rise 1.79%, the biggest gain in almost seven weeks.
"There appears to be more transparency, communication in
terms of the virus, and that makes it easier to start assessing
the economic fallout. So the markets have taken some comfort
from that," said Rainer Guntermann, a rates strategist at
Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
He was comparing the picture with Beijing's secretive stance
during the 2003 SARS virus outbreak which enabled the pathogen
to spread faster and claim more victims.
Risk aversion has not completely lifted, however; with the
number of coronavirus fatalities now at 132 and 6,000 cases
reported worldwide, there are fears the outbreak could inflict
serious damage on Chinese growth, already at three-decade lows.
A Reuters poll predicted China's manufacturing sector
stalled in January, after signs of recovery towards end-2019.
Several Hong Kong-listed firms warned of hits to profits and
Apple CEO Tim Cook warned of supply chain
disruptions. "Until the rate of cases starts to peak, markets are not
likely to bounce," said Sean Darby, global equity strategist at
Jefferies in Hong Kong.
On currency markets, the offshore-traded yuan CNH=D3 was
little changed at 6.9620 per dollar but held off a one-month low
hit earlier this week. Australia's currency, considered a China
proxy because of trade and investment links was also flat just
off three-month lows AUD=D3 .
The safe-haven yen was flat but traded above two-week highs
touched on Monday JPY=D3 while the dollar index too edged
lower after approaching two-month highs .DXY .
The dollar's next moves could be determined by the U.S.
Federal Reserve's meeting later on Wednesday where the central
bank should reiterate its on-hold stance.
But speculation has risen it could be shaken off autopilot
by the virus, with money markets predicting one 25 basis-point
rate cut this year and a small chance of a second.
Fears of economic damage are reflected also in the U.S.
Treasury yield curve where three-month yields briefly rose on
Tuesday above 10-year borrowing costs -- the so-called curve
inversion that is seen as a fairly reliable recession signal.
As calm returns to markets, the curve has returned to
normal, however, and Commerzbank's Guntermann said pricing rate
cuts at this stage was "ambitious".
Treasury 10-year yields were around 1.63%, off three-month
lows around 1.57% hit on Tuesday while German Bund yields also
inched higher US10YT=RR DE10YT=RR .
Wall Street futures were up around 0.25%, signalling a
stronger open on a day that will bring earnings from 47 S&P 500
companies, including Facebook, Boeing, General Electric,
Microsoft, McDonald's and AT&T.
On commodity markets, crude futures rose for the second day
after sharp falls triggered by fears for economic growth and a
fall in travel demand, with Brent crude up 1% on the day
LCOc1 . Gold, which had surged towards $1600 an ounce on
Monday, subsided to around $1560 XAU=