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SINGAPORE, Apr 26 (Reuters) Asian stocks gained on Wednesday, helped by lower oil prices and a modest rebound in the dollar against the yen on upbeat U.S. consumer confidence data.

Japanese shares rose as investors bought stocks with improved earnings prospects such as precision machinery maker Nikon Corp. and telecoms firm KDDI Corp. ahead of key corporate results.

A raft of earnings reports for the past year ended in March are due out after the market close, including those of Sharp Corp., the world's biggest maker of liquid crystal display televisions, Honda Motor Co., Japan's third-biggest auto maker, and No.2 brokerage Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

''Stocks with upbeat earnings such as Nikon and KDDI are luring bottom-fishing investors,'' said Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, strategist at Daiwa Securities.

''When looking back, the sell-off the day before yesterday was clearly overdone. So, it's in a process of a technical rebound.'' The Nikkei was up 0.27 percent at 17,016.78 after gaining 0.33 percent on Tuesday.

Nikon climbed 5.6 percent after the company said late on Tuesday that it would beat its own 2005/06 operating profit estimate by 25 percent and would boost its dividend.

KDDI rose 4.6 percent after Japan's No.2 telecoms company on Tuesday reported a full-year profit in line with expectations.

Shares of Nissan Motor were up 2.3 percent, as investors overlooked a fall in its quarterly profit and focused on the company's plans for future growth.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.47 percent on fears of a spike in interest rates after better-than-expected data on housing and consumer confidence.

The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.13 percent.

AUSTRALIAN DATA Australian stocks, returning from a one-day holiday, rose 1.17 percent after first-quarter consumer price data suggested there was no immediate need for the central bank to raise interest rates.

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index was 0.39 percent higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 0.08 percent. Taiwan shares rose 0.32 percent.

U.S. crude oil futures inched down on Wednesday, deepening mild losses a day ago, after the United States suspended crude deliveries to the emergency reserve and offered to ease stringent federal fuel standards.

Frontmonth U.S. crude for June delivery was trading 14 cents lower, or 0.19 percent, at $72.74 a barrel in ACCESS electronic trading. On Tuesday in New York, it fell 45 cents.

Spot gold was quoted at $630.20/631.20 an ounce, versus $630.60/631.60 late in New York on Tuesday and below a 25-year peak of $645.75 hit last week.

In Tokyo trade, the dollar was little changed at 114.95 yen after briefly rising above 115 yen. The U.S. currency hit a three-month low of 114.24 yen in the wake of the G7 meeting.

Traders said they expected the dollar to find support from Japanese importers and investors around 114.30 on any dips.

The dollar was mired near a seven-month low against the euro after European Central Bank executive board member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo suggested the pace of interest rate increases could accelerate.

The euro was also little changed at $1.2418 near a seven-month peak of $1.2440 struck on Tuesday.

REUTERS CS KN0926