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Stocks cling to fifth day of gains in best run since April

By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks were heading for a fifth straight day of gains on Tuesday and their best run since April, helped by bets on more support from the world's main central banks and as oil climbed back to $50 a barrel. Asian markets had been lifted to a two-week highs by what looks to set to be the most generous Trans-Pacific trade deal in a generation and Europe held the momentum. Wall Street was mixed in early deals, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1 percent, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both shedding 0.1 percent. London's FTSE, Germany's and the CAC 40 in Paris were up 0.4-0.5 percent to push the 45-country MSCI All World index up 0.25 percent following 0.6 percent overnight gains in Asia. Bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will have to put its rate hike plans on hold until next year - Goldman Sachs said it expected no move until well into 2016 - also meant the dollar spent its third day out of the last four in the red, which in turn helped emerging markets. "There are three things that clients want to know at the moment," said Vasileios Gkionakis Global Head of FX Strategy at UniCredit. "What will the Fed do, what will the ECB do and what effect will it have on emerging markets." Nerves about the health of the global economy had been rattled again earlier by an unexpected fall in German industrial orders as demand from China and regions outside Europe weakened. The data predated the Volkswagen emissions test scandal, which economists say may have done more damage to German exports. That was expected to be followed by a cut to the International Monetary Fund's latest growth forecasts, following a volatile few months for many economies. The dollar's sluggishness meant the euro and the yen made ground despite a growing expectation of more stimulus from the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan in coming months. The Australian dollar was the standout performer among major currencies, helped by an unexpectedly relaxed message from its central bank on threats to growth, dampening speculation of further rate cuts this year. The Aussie has been one of the big losers from a slowdown in China over the past year but some traders said much was now priced in, especially given signs Australian miners might be taking market share. "The message from the RBA seems to be steady as it goes, there is no panic," said Richard Benson, co-head of portfolio investment at currency managers Millennium Global Investments in London. "They don't sound like they want to cut." BOJ JOB The recent rebound in commodity markets also resumed after a morning wobble in Europe. Brent crude climbed above $50 a barrel having failed to breach that level overnight, while copper and other industrial metals were trying for a third straight day of gains. The mood overnight in Asia had been upbeat. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.6 percent to touch its highest since Sept. 18. Japan's Nikkei ended up 1 percent, extending its rebound from an eight-month low hit a week ago on sustained speculation that the central bank might add to its already enormous stimulus programme. The Bank of Japan began its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. It is widely expected to hold monetary policy steady but pressure is building on it to act. "One of the two big persistent concerns has faded," said Masashi Oda, senior investment officer at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, referring to expectations of a near-term Fed hike, "so investors are taking risks." Also underpinning sentiment was a trade pact billed as the most ambitious in a generation reached by 12 Pacific Rim countries including the United States, Japan and Canada. It is likely to face scepticism from U.S. lawmakers but if approved, it would cut trade barriers and set common standards from Vietnam to Canada which could reshape industries and costs. (Refiles with correct day in first paragraph.) (Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by John Stonestreet)