* Hopes of milder U.S. tariffs support market sentiment
* Nikkei up 1 pct, Korea's Kospi up 0.8 pct
* Dollar steadies; Mexico peso, C$ recover
* ECB may offer hint on how it will end bond buyingprogramme
By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, March 8 (Reuters) - Asian shares found relief onThursday as fears about a global trade war amid U.S. PresidentDonald Trump's push to introduce protectionist tariffs weretempered by signs the move could include carve-outs for keypartners.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.2 percent, led by gains in South Koreanshares, which also benefited from signs of easing tensionsbetween the two Koreas. Japan's Nikkei .N225 gained onepercent.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 .SPX ended down just 0.05percent at 2,726.8 after an initial loss of almost one percent,with tech shares being a major bright spot.
They erased most losses as White House spokeswoman SarahSanders told a media briefing that the impending hefty U.S.tariffs on steel and aluminium imports could exclude Canada,Mexico and a clutch of other countries. soothed worries that the Trump Administration couldlean more towards protectionist policies after the departure ofhis top economic adviser Gary Cohn. about the U.S. tariff should ease today followingthe comments from the White House," said Masahiro Ichikawa,senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management. "Stillthe issue will continue to hang over in the markets. Investorsneed to see exactly what steps Trump will take and whatretaliatory actions other countries will take in coming days."
Trump is expected to sign a presidential proclamationestablishing the tariffs during a ceremony scheduled for 2030GMT on Thursday, a source familiar with the situation said.
In the currency market, the Mexican peso and Canadian dollarrecovered from their steep losses.
The peso last stood at 18.7125 per dollar MXN=D2 while theCanadian dollar CAD=D4 changed hands at C$1.2910 to the U.S.unit, off its eight-month low of C$1.3002 hit earlier this week.
The dollar also stabilised against other major currenciesafter its recent hit from fears about the tariff plan.
The euro EUR= traded at $1.2411, having risen to $1.2447on Wednesday, its highest levels since Feb. 16. The commoncurrency has been rising since it had hit a seven-week low of$1.21545 hit on Thursday, when Trump unveiled his tariff plan.
The European Central Bank is all but certain to keep policyunchanged on Thursday but may tweak its communication stance tooffer at least a few clues about its progress towards ending itsunprecedented bond purchases later this year. dollar changed hands at 106.05 yen JPY= , keeping somedistance from its 16-month low of 105.24 touched on Friday.
Bitcoin fell after the U.S. Securities and ExchangeCommission said many online trading platforms forcryptocurrencies should be registered with the regulator andsubject to additional rules. the Bitstamp exchange, it traded at $9,904 BTC=BTSP ,having lost 7.6 percent on Wednesday, its biggest daily fall inover a month.
In commodities, oil prices were under pressure, hit byworries about U.S. protectionism as well as U.S. government datashowing an increase in crude inventories and output.
Weekly data from the U.S. Department of Energy showed weeklyU.S. crude production hit a record high last week of almost 10.4million barrels per day.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for Aprildelivery CLc1 fell 2.3 percent on Wednesday, its biggest dailypercentage loss since Feb. 9. They last fetched $61.29 perbarrel, up 0.2 percent so far in Asia on Thursday.
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