Asia shares rebound, but quarterly loss headed for 4-year high

Tokyo

ASIAN stock markets rallied on Wednesday after sliding to three-year lows, but concerns lingered over slumping commodities prices and China's cooling economy.

European markets were set to follow Asia higher, with financial spreadbetters expecting Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 to open as much as 1.2 per cent higher. US stock futures rose 0.8 per cent, suggesting a stronger opening on Wall Street later in the session.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.6 per cent after plumbing its lowest since June 2012 on Tuesday on fears that China's slowdown would …