* Shanghai stocks steady after Monday's rout
* PMI surveys show China economy maintaining upward
momentum
* Other Asia shares creep higher with close watch on
Shanghai
* Aussie dollar firms ahead of central bank meeting
* S.Korea exports plunge but share prices rise
By Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Chinese shares stabilised on
Tuesday after Monday's rout, helped by upbeat economic data,
while the Aussie dollar firmed on expectations the central bank
could shift to a tightening bias later in the day.
Shares in Shanghai <> edged up 0.1 percent after
plunging nearly 7 percent in the previous session -- their
worst one-day loss since mid-2008 -- on persistent fears the
government is reining in bank lending to head off potential
asset bubbles.
Stocks elsewhere in Asia posted modest gains, with
investors keeping a wary eye on Chinese markets.
Despite the gloom hanging over its share market, data
showed China's economy maintained its upward momentum in
August, with two purchasing managers' indexes rising to their
highest levels in 16 months. []
"China's equity market has taken a battering in the last
few weeks, but the economic data suggests that the recovery
remains on track," said Brian Jackson, an economist at Royal
Bank of Canada in Hong Kong.
Commodities markets, however, remained nervous about the
strength of Chinese demand and London copper slid more than 3
percent after a holiday on Monday.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> hovered around $70 a barrel after
sliding almost 4 percent on Monday on fears that Chinese
lending curbs would cool its economic recovery and keep a lid
on energy demand.
Currency markets were more bullish, notably on the
Australian dollar <AUD=D4>, which strengthened on expectations
the Reserve Bank of Australia will shift to a tightening bias
at a meeting on Tuesday. The policy decision will be announced
at 0430 GMT.
The central bank was expected to keep interest rates at a
record low 3 percent but optimism about the economic outlook
was reinforced by news that an Australian manufacturing index
had reached a 17-month high in August [].
The Australian dollar <AUD=D4> was firm at $0.8436, just
below last month's 11-month peak at $0.8479.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average <> fell
0.5 percent as the Chinese equity sell-off raised concerns
about the strength of the global economy and fueled fears that
investors were pulling out of riskier assets in general.
Those concerns were underpinned on Tuesday by a
sharper-than-expected 20.6 percent drop in South Korean exports
in August, extending double-digit annual declines to a 10th
straight month.
However, equity investors took the data in their stride,
pushing up shares of Korean banks as well as automakers Hyundai
Motor <005380.KS> and Kia Motors <000270.KS> on the view that
broader recent data suggests the economic environment is still
improving.
Japan's Nikkei <> rose 0.5 percent by late morning,
with investors keeping a close eye on Chinese markets.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> also rose 0.5 percent.
The index, like other major global benchmarks, has
sputtered in recent weeks on fears that a six-month equity
rally has run too far ahead of economic fundamentals, but it is
still up nearly 50 percent so far this year.
South Korea's main index <> rose 0.8 percent, led by a
4 percent jump in Hyundai and a near 2 percent gains in Kia
shares.
The yen <JPY=> remained close to 7-week highs reached on
Monday in the wake of the Democratic Party's landslide election
victory.
Its strength put pressure on shares of Japanese exporters
while falling commodity prices depressed shares of Japanese
trading houses including the biggest, Mitsubishi Corp <8058.T>,
which lost 1.6 percent.
The euro was barely changed on the day at 133.36 yen
<EURJPY=R> and $1.4334 <EUR=>. (Editing by Kim Coghill)
