TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares struggled on Tuesday as investors cautiously awaited Chinese trade data to gauge whether the world's second largest economy could achieve a soft landing, after a sharp slowdown in U.S. jobs creation raised concerns about global growth.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> eased 0.1 percent, dragged lower by declines in Australian shares <.axjo> which were hit by renewed worries about a stalling economic recovery and by Chinese shares.
But Japan's Nikkei average <.n225> gained 0.8 percent, as a steadying yen gave exporter shares some breathing space and helped lift the index, which fell to a one-month low on Monday, while shares in South Korea <.ks11> also rose. <.t/>
China's trade figures due on Tuesday follow an annual inflation rate which exceeded expectations in March but didn't change views Beijing would remain flexible about easing monetary policy to support growth. The country will report first-quarter gross domestic product on Friday.
"Today's data will give further evidence to show how much of a slowdown the Chinese economy is experiencing," said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney. "Prices have fallen very close to their support levels and the series of data due this week from China and elsewhere will pave the direction."
In a speech that did not touch directly on the outlook for economic growth or monetary policy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday the U.S. economy has yet to fully recover from the effects of the financial crisis, and regulators must continue to find new ways to strengthen the banking system.
Ahead of the Chinese data, London copper retreated, down 0.8 percent to $8,325 a metric tonne, while Brent crude futures held steady above $122 a barrel. U.S. oil gained 0.2 percent to $102.62.
Analysts expect trading to be choppy this week with data and U.S. earnings giving direction for the coming months.
China's economy likely grew at its slowest pace in nearly three years between January and March at just 8.3 percent, still well above the government's full-year growth target of 7.5 percent and pointing to a soft economic landing.
U.S. earnings will come to the fore this week, with bellwethers Google Inc
U.S. bank executives face great expectations from investors when they report first-quarter results beginning Friday.
China CPI and PPI data: http://link.reuters.com/tek57s
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RISK GAUGE VOLATILE
A key gauge of how investors perceive risk, the VIX index <.vix>, rose to a one-month high on Monday to end at 18.81, reflecting growing risk aversion. The VIX, which measures expected volatility in the Standard & Poor's 500 index <.spx> over the next 30 days, is up about 21 percent in April.
"We remain constructive about global risk but expect a choppy trading environment this week," Barclays Capital analysts said in a research note.
"We are looking forward to see if trade data or Q1 GDP growth numbers for China will confirm our soft-landing scenario. The environment is likely choppier for global stocks that will have to assimilate a disappointing U.S. earnings season," Barclays said.
The dollar was up 0.3 percent against the yen at 81.72 yen on short covering but eased 0.2 percent against the euro at $1.3138. The dollar weakened after the disappointing U.S. jobs data.
Oil prices fell in light volume on Monday as revived talks on Iran's nuclear program eased fears of supply disruption, while slowing U.S. jobs growth sparked concern about demand for fuel.
Data from EPFR Global showed global equity markets struggled during the first week of April as the latest Federal Reserve minutes dashed hopes for another round of quantitative easing and surging Spanish bond yields refueled fears about the euro zone debt crisis. EPFR Global-tracked Equity Funds posted collective outflows of $2 billion for the week ending April 4.
(Additional reporting by Manash Goswami in Singapore; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)
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