July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rebounded today, while European shares declined after a rout in global equities that wiped out $2.1 trillion in market value last week.

``For the time being we are staying outside this market until things calm down a little bit,'' said Ignacio Cobo, who helps manage $530 million at Banca Privada D'Andorra in Andorra. ``This correction may last longer. We are ready to add to holdings of those shares we like because of the improvement in valuations.''

JFE Holdings Inc. and Nippon Steel Corp. led gains in Asia after posting higher profits. Deutsche Postbank AG dropped in Europe after Germany's biggest consumer bank by clients posted second-quarter profit that missed analysts' estimates.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index, a global benchmark, rose 0.1 percent to 1,556.66 as of 11:25 a.m. in London. U.S. futures also advanced.

The MSCI World dropped 5.3 percent last week, the biggest decline since July 2002, on concern difficulties in the credit markets may curb mergers and acquisitions as investors shy away from risky debt.

``The market is entirely sentiment-driven and there's a high degree of nervousness,'' said Philipp Musil, who helps oversee $24 billion at Vienna-based Constantia Privatbank AG.

Japan's Topix index climbed 0.4 percent, while the Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed little changed at 17,289.30. Both measures reversed declines of as much as 1.4 percent.

Benchmarks gained across Asia except for Taiwan, New Zealand, Malaysia and Philippines. Pakistan's key measure was little changed. Thailand's market is closed for a holiday today.

JFE, Nippon Steel

JFE jumped 5 percent to 8,350 yen. Net income rose 63 percent to 89.4 billion yen ($754 million) in the three months ended June 30 after the company raised prices for the metal to shipbuilders, it said today. It also plans to buy back as much as 20 million shares.

Nippon Steel, the world's second-biggest producer, climbed 3.9 percent to 918 yen. First-quarter profit gained 16 percent to 86.7 billion yen, the company said.

National benchmarks fell in nine of the 17 western European markets that were open. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 slid 0.1 percent. Germany's DAX slipped 0.2 percent.

Postbank lost 2 percent to 54.59 euros. The company said net income climbed to 151 million euros from 142 million euros a year earlier. That missed the 154 million-euro median estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

ICI, the U.K. maker of Dulux and Glidden paints, jumped 7.8 percent to 622 pence. Akzo, the world's largest paints and coatings maker, increased its offer to 7.77 billion pounds ($16 billion), or 650 pence a share. That's 18 percent more than ICI's close on June 15, the last trading day before Akzo disclosed an initial approach. The revised bid still doesn't reflect ICI's ``full strategic value,'' the London-based company said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 30, 2007 06:50 EDT