METALS-Copper hits 2-wk high on China data; US fiscal talks eyed
SINGAPORE, Jan 2 (Reuters) - London copper rose to a two-week high on Wednesday on upbeat Chinese data, extending a 4.4-percent rise in 2012, while investors waited to see if U.S. lawmakers would strike a last-minute deal to avert devastating tax hikes and spending cuts.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.2 percent to $8,020.75 a tonne by 0131 GMT. It climbed to as high as $8,025, its highest since Dec. 19.
* Investors are anxiously waiting for the U.S. Congress to strike a last-minute deal to avoid massive tax hikes and spending cuts that threaten to tip the economy into another recession.
* The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to vote on the Senate's "fiscal cliff" bill, Democratic Representative Alcee Hastings said on Tuesday, increasing the odds that Congress will stave off steep tax hikes and spending cuts.
* China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index held steady in December at 50.6, matching November's seven-month high, adding to evidence that the world's second-largest economy was headed towards steady growth revival.
* LME copper stocks rose to 320,050 tonnes by Dec. 28, the highest level since early February. <MCUSTX-TOTAL>
* China's financial markets are closed for holiday, and will reopen on Friday, Jan. 4.
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MARKETS NEWS
* U.S. stocks closed out 2012 with their strongest day in more than a month, putting the S&P 500 up 13.4 percent for the year.
* Asian stocks started new year trading with tentative gains as investors anxiously wait to see if the U.S. Congress can strike a last-minute compromise and avert the harsh "fiscal cliff" tax rises and spending cuts that are technically already in force.
* The dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, after posting a minor decline in 2012.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0500 India HSBC Markit Mfg PMI Dec 2012 0843 Italy Markit/ADACI Mfg PMI Dec 2012 0853 Germany Markit/BME Mfg PMI Dec 2012 0858 EZ Markit Mfg PMI Dec 2012 1245 U.S. ICSC chain stores yy Weekly 1500 U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI Dec 1500 U.S. Construction spending mm Nov
PRICES Base metals prices at 0131 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 8020.75 91.75 +1.16 1.16 HG COPPER MAR3 365.10 -0.15 -0.04 -0.04 LME Alum 2079.25 8.25 +0.40 0.40 LME Zinc 2063.50 0.00 +0.00 0.00 LME Nickel 17220.00 65.00 +0.38 0.38 LME Lead 2339.00 -1.00 -0.04 -0.04 LME Tin 23305.00 -95.00 -0.41 -0.41
COMEX contract shows most active month
(Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Himani Sarkar)