* Fund managers raise both stock and bond weightings
* Emerging market assets still favoured
By Akiko Takeda
TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Japanese fund managers raised the average weighting of global bonds in their model portfolios for the first time in six months in December, attracted by rising debt yields, and also slightly increased their stock weightings.
Fund managers continued to show a strong interest in emerging market bonds and stocks, even after debt problems in Dubai rattled global financial markets, as they expect those economies to continue to outperform developed nations.
"Some time ago, a U.S. rate hike next year was not priced in at all. But now it and 10-year U.S. bonds are yielding about 3.5 percent," said Akio Yoshino, chief economist at Societe General Asset Management. "So we would like to increase our U.S. bond holdings."
A Reuters poll of 12 fund managers, taken Dec. 7-17. showed their average bond allocations rising to 43.9 percent from 43.3 percent in November.
Their stock weightings also inched up to 51.5 percent from 51.4 percent as they remained optimistic on the global economic outlook. Cash weightings slipped to 4.5 percent from 5.3 percent.
"The world economy is still recovering. We have seen problems in Dubai and Greece's credit downgrade, but they are unlikely to pose systemic risks to global financial markets," said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist at Daiwa Asset Management.
In their model equity portfolios, fund managers boosted weightings for Asian shares to 6.0 percent -- just shy of a 6 1/2-year high of 6.1 percent in October -- from 5.7 percent in November.
They also increased their weightings for emerging markets outside Asia to a record 4.9 percent from 4.6 percent.
"Talk of exiting an easy monetary policy will negatively affect North American shares and European shares, which have a high correlation to the United States. So we are underweight on them, while we are overweight Asia and emerging shares that will benefit from recovery in the developed world," said Daiwa's Yoshino.
The average weighting for Japanese stocks was unchanged from an 11-year low of 16.1 percent.
But some managers said Tokyo shares may benefit from the Bank of Japan's latest steps to improve the country's economy. The bank introduced a new operation to bring down three-month interest rates earlier this month, even as the world's major central banks are moving towards ending emergency easing steps implemented last year.
"The policy may have little impact on its own but the important thing is that the BOJ is showing it is taking a stance where it might ease its policy," said Masayuki Hoshina, chief economist at Okasan Securities.
Managers also increased their exposure to Asian and emerging markets in their model bond portfolio.
Weightings for Asian bonds rose to 2.1 percent from 1.9 percent in November, while those for other emerging markets jumped to 0.8 percent from 0.2 percent.
They cut weightings on euro zone bonds to 38.8 percent from 39.5 percent, as some managers were concerned fiscal woes in Greece and possibly some other countries could harm the euro.
The common currency dropped to a three-month low versus the dollar last week. (Writing by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Joseph Radford)