* Reserve Bank of Australia expected to hike rates at

0330 GMT

* Fed, ECB, BOJ, BOE all due to weigh in on economic

outlook this week

* Brent crude above $100 as Trump's call for Hormuz

escorts rebuffed

By Gregor Stuart Hunter

SINGAPORE, March 17 (Reuters) - Stocks climbed in early

Asian trading on Tuesday, pressing for a second day of gains as

investors confronted a crowded central bank calendar and an

unrelenting Middle East conflict.

Markets are on edge, trying to price in the economic damage

from U.S. President Donald Trump's war with Iran and the policy

reaction it could trigger.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

was up 0.9%, led by a 2.4% gain for South

Korea's Kospi, while Japan's Nikkei 225 rose

0.3%. S&P 500 e-mini futures slipped 0.3%.

On Wall Street on Monday, the S&P 500 rose 1.0% to

snap a four-day losing streak on gains for AI stocks, though the

index remains 3% below its level before the conflict began.

"The rally still has the feel of a positioning squeeze

rather than the start of a new directional trend," said Chris

Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd in Melbourne.

"I remain reluctant to buy dips at this stage."

Brent crude rose 2.7% to $102.89 a barrel after

several U.S. allies rebuffed Trump's call on Monday to send

warships to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital

artery for a fifth of global energy shipments.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will announce its latest

interest rate decision at 0330 GMT on Tuesday, with a Reuters

poll of economists expecting the central bank to hike for a

second time this year to 4.1%.

It is the first major central bank to meet this week,

setting the tone ahead of the Federal Reserve, European Central

Bank, Bank of England and Bank of Japan as they assess the

global economic impact of the Iran war, even though all are

expected to stand pat on policy.

The Bank for International Settlements on Monday urged

policymakers not to rush reactions to the Iran crisis-driven

spike in global energy prices, calling it a textbook case of

when to "look through" a supply shock.

Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 99.1% probability

that the U.S. central bank will remain on hold at the end of its

two-day meeting on Wednesday, according to the CME Group's

FedWatch tool.

The Federal Open Market Committee "is likely to defer action

until it becomes clear whether the output or price effects are

dominant," said Steve Englander, global head of G10 FX research

at Standard Chartered in New York.

"We would be surprised if the FOMC indicated a strong

direction on the impact of the war, as it has no way of knowing

how long the war will last or whether the biggest response will

be on activity or inflation."

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond was up 1.8 basis

points at 4.236%.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback's

strength against a basket of six currencies, edged up 0.1% to

99.963 after snapping a four-day streak of gains on Monday.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.2% to 159.415 per dollar,

just shy of the crucial 160 level despite verbal warnings from

Japanese authorities on Tuesday.

Analysts expect the bar for an intervention to be higher

because of rising oil prices. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda

said on Tuesday that underlying inflation was gradually

accelerating toward the central bank's 2% target.

Gold prices held steady, up 0.1% at $5,011.53.

Bitcoin advanced 2.0% to $75,705.24, while ether

was up 0.7% at $2,362.25.