GLOBAL MARKETS-China shares stabilise on PMI data, Aussie firm

* 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 .SSEC 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. [[ID:nPEK62430]

"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 [ID:nSYU007143].

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 .DJI 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 .N225 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 .KS11 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)