Asian shares find support amid China uncertainty

Most regional shares edge higher, led by Nikkei which advanced 0.8%

Asian markets were finding their feet on Tuesday after a rocky ride the previous session, though uncertainty about the true state of China's economy kept nerves frayed and commodity prices restrained.

Most regional shares edged ahead, with Japan's Nikkei adding 0.6% and the major European bourses were seen opening up around 0.2%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan put on 0.3%, after shedding 1.3% on Monday.

Shanghai was flat so perilously close to its lowest since last July, while prices for industrial commodities stayed under water in the wake of February's shock fall in Chinese exports.

Dealers were especially nervous about iron ore following an 8% slide on Monday that fuelled unease about the health of China's giant steel sector.

Brent crude lost a further 16 cents to $107.92, while US oil extended its decline to $101.06 a barrel.

There was some relief that rates in Chinese money markets were not showing much strain while the yuan was fixed in line with expectations.

Wall Street also managed to end steady on Monday after recouping early losses. The Dow Jones industrial average ended off 0.21%, while the S&P 500 lost just 0.05%.

Other popular indicators of risk were benign. The stock market's fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index, ended little changed after an early spike, while US 10-year Treasury yields eased a single basis point to 2.78%.

Forex markets were surprisingly calm with the US dollar barely changed against a basket of major currencies.

Even currencies from major resource exporters incurred only modest losses. The Australian dollar, often used as a liquid proxy for Chinese risk, stabilised at $0.9030 after losing half a US cent on Monday.

The euro held rock steady at $1.3870, while the dollar inched up to 103.27 yen.

The Bank of Japan on Tuesday reaffirmed a commitment to massive monetary stimulus at its regular policy meeting, but downgraded its view on exports following soft data recently.

Nothing new was expected at this meeting, but markets suspect the BOJ could be pushed into action once a sales tax increase goes through in April.

The Japanese economy grew at a pedestrian 0.7% annualised pace in the last quarter of 2013 as net exports proved a major drag, intensifying pressure for fresh action form the central bank.

Gold was a shade firmer at $1,341.70 an ounce on Tuesday as fears of an economic slowdown in China and Ukraine's geopolitical crisis keep investors seeking safe-haven bullion.

In a sign of investor confidence in the precious metal amid global uncertainties, the world's biggest bullion-backed exchange-traded fund saw its largest inflow in a month on Monday.