* Asian shares mixed after Wednesday's Shanghai-led falls
* Shanghai's index highly volatile, MSCI ex Japan gains
* China says to stick to appropriately loose monetary
policy
* Oil at $63 a barrel, extending losses on stockpile rise
By Charlotte Cooper
TOKYO, July 30 (Reuters) - Asian share markets were largely
steady on Thursday, struggling to regain multi-month highs,
while Shanghai shares see-sawed after a 5 percent sell-off the
previous day that sent other markets reeling.
Crude futures hovered at $63 a barrel <CLc1>, after a drop
of 5.8 percent on Wednesday when data from the United States,
the world's top oil consumer, showed an unexpectedly large
build in crude oil stocks last week. []
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 0.4 percent after tumbling 1.8 percent on
Wednesday. The index hit a 10 month high on Tuesday.
Tokyo started higher, helped by early losses in the yen,
but caution over Asia's tumble on Wednesday prompted investors
to pare the losses. The Nikkei stock average was flat. []
However, shares in automakers Honda Motor <7267.T> and
Nissan Motor <7201.T> gained strongly following surprise
quarterly profits. []
"Though the market initially jumped a bit in response to a
weaker yen, yesterday's falls in Asian shares as well as Wall
Street are definitely a concern," said Yutaka Miura, chief
technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> fell 0.3 percent to
9,070.72 on Wednesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX>
shed 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite <> slid 0.4
percent. []
"There's a sense that perhaps the July rally in global
stocks may be coming to an end," Miura said.
The Nikkei hit its highest level in nine months this week
and other markets such as Seoul have also risen rapidly, some
to levels not seen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers last
year, as global recovery hopes have fuelled buying.
But worries on Wednesday that China might be ready to hit
the brakes on lending, a move that could curb demand and hinder
a global economic recovery, sent Shanghai's index <>
tumbling and hit commodity prices and energy and raw materials
shares.
In comments reported on Thursday, the vice governor of
China's central bank said it would "unswervingly" stick to an
appropriately loose monetary policy and will use market tools
not quota controls to ensure credit growth was appropriate.
[].
The Shanghai Composite Index <> gained more than 1
percent but was still well below Wednesday's 14-month high.
Shares in Seoul <> fell, but Australia fared better,
buoyed by top banks after a broker upgrade and their gains
offset falls in top miners on worries about Chinese demand.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index <> rose 0.8 percent
with top lender National Australia Bank Ltd <NAB.AX> leading
banks. Miner BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> fell, but less than traders
had expected from the drop in oil and metals prices.
In New Zealand, the central bank warned the strength of the
New Zealand dollar was adding to the risks of economic recovery
as the country tries to emerge from its worst recession on
record.
It kept rates unchanged at a record low of 2.5 percent but
left the door open to more cuts if the currency, which has
risen 30 percent since March, did not ease.
The currency dropped a cent after the central bank news but
was steady on the day at $0.6505 later. []
South Korea too reaffirmed it would maintain expansionary
economic policy until the private sector revived and warned a
premature shift in policy to tightening mode could cause
problems. [].
Concern about China also made waves in the currency market,
where the dollar had risen on Wednesday as investors took
profits on currencies that have benefited from improving
investor confidence that the global economy has hit bottom.
The dollar trimmed gains against a basket of currencies
<.DXY> after the comment by China's central bank.
The yen, another currency which benefits when investors
turn defensive, held steady at 95.02 yen per dollar <JPY=> but
lost some of the previous day's gains against the euro and
Australian dollar.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies and Satomi Noguchi in
Tokyo, Jungyoun Park in Seoul and Sonali Paul in Sydney;
Editing by Neil Fullick)
