* Risk sentiment improves as oil, commodities edge higher
* Upbeat U.S. jobs data fuel expectations for solid payrolls
* Euro steadies, bears cautious that ECB could again disappoint
* European shares seen steady to slightly higher
By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, March 3 (Reuters) - Asian shares were bound for a third straight session of gains on Thursday as upbeat data on U.S. jobs and a rally in a range of commodities whetted risk appetites globally.
Notably, oil shrugged off record high U.S. crude stockpiles as investors chose to focus on an OPEC plan to freeze production, keeping alive talk the market had bottomed from a near two-year selloff.
U.S. crude edged up a further 9 cents to $34.75 a barrel, while Brent also rose 9 cents to $37.02.
A more circumspect start is seen in European share markets with spreadbetters expecting Germany's DAX to rise 0.3 percent and almost flat openings in Britain's FTSE and France's CAC 40.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added another 1.1 percent to reach a two-month top, having surged 2.6 percent on Wednesday.
Higher prices for copper and iron ore helped Australian stocks rise 1.2 percent to their highest in almost two months. Japan's Nikkei firmed 1.3 percent, on top of a 4-percent jump the previous session.
"Value is starting to snap back and some sectors that pretty recently were hanging around all-time lows are showing signs of life," said Nicholas Smith, a strategist at CLSA.
"The general updraft in oil is helping confidence as well. Investors aren't yet ready to take on a lot of risk, but they are adding to their positions."
Energy and bank stocks had led Wall Street higher on Wednesday, giving the Dow a gain of 0.2 percent. The S&P 500 added 0.41 percent and the Nasdaq 0.29 percent.
The calmer mood showed in the CBOE Volatility index, a measure of investor anxiety, which closed at its lowest level so far this year.
Sentiment was underpinned by a report showing U.S. private sector jobs rose a surprisingly strong 214,000 in February, adding to speculation Friday's payrolls report would also be upbeat.
NOT SO FAST
Yet fissures remain in the global outlook, argued Justin Fabo, a senior economist at Australia and New Zealand Bank.
Despite the latest bounce in commodities, prices were still very weak and a lot of money had been borrowed on the assumption that they would not be.
"China has huge potential to roil markets as the nation navigates a difficult structural transition," he said. "Asian trade, traditionally a bellwether for global growth, is in recession."
"Risk is being repriced, and the ability of central banks to keep pulling rabbits out of the hat is now pretty limited."