UPDATE 3-Turkish stocks rise, outperform emerging peers

(Updates with closing figures)

ISTANBUL, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Turkey's main share index rose more than 5 percent on Tuesday, tracking gains in global bourses after financier Warren Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway had offered to take over liabilities from bond insurers.

The lira closed 0.6 percent firmer on the interbank market to 1.2145 against the dollar. It strengthened further to 1.2080 in after-hours trade.

The ISE National-100 index .XU100 jumped 5.31 percent to close at 43,539.85 points, outperforming the overall emerging markets index .MSCIEF, which gained 1.88 percent.

Turkish stocks have fared worse than other emerging markets this year, but Tera Stockbrokers managing director Emre Tezmen said they could start to close the gap with the emerging market benchmark index Bovespa .BVSP in Brazil if sentiment improves.

"The gap between the Turkish stock market and the Bovespa is too large. It's somewhat understandable, given Turkey-specific issues, the government seems more interested in the headscarf issue than in social security reform," he said.

As at the end of last week, Turkish stocks had fallen 27.9 percent this year, compared with a 12.1 percent fall on emerging markets overall and an 8.7 percent decline in Brazil, according to Morgan Stanley data.

In the last 12 months, Turkish stocks have risen 9.9 percent, compared to 18.5 percent for emerging markets overall and 59.1 percent in Brazil.

Analysts said Tuesday's rise may not last long.