GLOBAL MARKETS-Investors wait for Spain, central bank meetings

* European shares rise 0.3 pct, euro holds above $1.29
* Wall Street seen opening higher
* Gold up, oil steady
* Aussie dollar slips as RBA cuts rates

By Marc Jones
LONDON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - European shares and the euro swung
higher on Tuesday as investors decided news on Spain's bailout
plans was encouraging enough to warrant fresh buying and looked
ahead to central bank meetings and data releases.
The FTSEurofirst index of top European shares, which has
risen 17 percent since June, dipped as much as 0.5 percent in
early trading before a recovery left it 0.3 percent higher at
1108.82 points. The euro also shrugged off early weakness
to climb back above $1.292 but moves were choppy.
The swings were caused by the uncertainty over an expected
request for aid from Spain.
European officials told Reuters that Madrid was ready to
make the request but that Germany, the euro zone's paymaster,
would prefer it to hold off for now.
Also adding to the confusion about when aid could arrive,
Spanish media reported that Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
has told party members he will not make a request this weekend.
"It's difficult for markets to get any sense of direction
when you have such contrasting comments coming out from Europe,"
said Alastair McCaig an analyst for spread betting firm IG.
"One second you believe the Spanish are about to apply for a
bailout, the next we are getting comments from Germany saying
they should hold off a bit longer."
The European Central Bank has said Spain must request aid
before it launches a new, potentially-unlimited programme of
bond purchases, something which markets hope could stop the
crisis getting worse.
Wall Street is expected to build on Monday's modest gains
when trading resumes later, but with employment data not due
until Friday investors there are also focused on Spain and euro
zone issues.
"I think the market feels that we are closer to some type of
action and resolution in terms of the Spanish problem," said
Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham
Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont. "That's certainly
helping markets this morning."
S&P 500 futures rose 7.6 points, Dow Jones industrial
average futures rose 47 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures
added 13 points.

MACRO PICTURE
Global shares measured by the MSCI index were up 0.1 percent
to 333.66 points. Asian equities .
enjoyed small gains overnight following a surprise improvement
in the U.S. manufacturing sector and promises of continued
support from the Federal Reserve.
Spanish and Italian bond yields - which move inversely to
prices - continued their recent improvement with ten-year
Spanish government bond yields 12 basis points
lower at 5.77 percent and Italian yields 4 basis
points lower.
Economists and market strategists have been encouraged by
the recent progress in the euro zone but believe markets could
well slow as focus returns to global economic fundamentals.
"If you go into the helicopter and you accept the premise we
have removed just about all of the tail risk in the system, we
change the mechanics of how we invest from the next EU summit or
whatever it is, back to the macro growth picture," said Saxo
bank chief economist Steen Jakobson.
"Data has clearly been better than expected for a while but
in the last week and a half they have turned down again. That
has been one of the reasons for the lack of follow through from
(recent Federal Reserve stimulus) QE3."

CENTRAL BANKS IN FOCUS
Gold prices, which are seen as a safe haven asset,
remained close to their highest level of the year. Oil prices
slipped to $112 a barrel as investors weighed a weaker
outlook for fuel demand due to sluggish economic growth.
Earlier on Tuesday, Australia's central bank, the RBA,
kicked off a week of central bank meetings by cutting its main
rate by a quarter point to 3.25 percent. The European Central
Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan all follow later
this week although none are expected to move rates.
A rise in euro zone producer prices on Tuesday added to
economists' conviction that the ECB would not lower its 0.75
percent main rate.
It was the RBA's third cut in six months as the slowdown in
China, a strong currency, soft export prices and benign
inflation all slow its economy.
The move saw the Australian dollar slip to a
one-month low of $1.0305 from around $1.0363 before the
announcement, but Australian shares rose 1 percent.