SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) - Australian shares are seen holdinga tight range in early trade on Wednesday, with weak metalprices offsetting a positive lead from Wall Street as investorswait on the release of Chinese manufacturing data. * Stock index futures edged up 0.1 percent to5,172.0, which is still at a 19.2-point discount to theunderlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. Australian shares climbed 1.3 percent on Tuesday to close attheir highest level in almost five years, led by sharp gains inthe financial sector. * New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index shed 2.1points to 4,612.3 in early trade. * U.S. stocks rose moderately on Tuesday, with the S&P 500ending at another all-time closing high on a jump in Apple andencouraging economic data. * Copper fell on Tuesday, recording its steepest monthlyloss in nearly a year, as concerns about the pace of globalgrowth weighed on industrial metals, but falls were limited byprospects of further monetary easing. * China, Australia's biggest export market, is due torelease the official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) at 0100GMT, which is expected to hit a 12-month high. * Rio Tinto Alcan said it has suspendedanode production at its 424,000-tonne-per-year Alma aluminumsmelter in northern Quebec while it investigates the cause of aaccident overnight that killed a worker at the facility. * Leighton Holdings Ltd said itsHabtoor Leighton Group had been awarded an AED250 millionoilfield infrastructure contract in Abu Dhabi. * Most Asian markets are closed for holidays. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2257 GMT ------------ INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHGS&P 500 1597.57 0.25% 3.960USD/JPY 97.39 -0.02% -0.02010-YR US TSY YLD 1.6734 -- 0.000SPOT GOLD 1474.55 -0.14% -2.050US CRUDE 93.12 -0.36% -0.340DOW JONES 14839.80 0.14% 21.05ASIA ADRS 143.62 0.27% 0.39------------------------------------------------------------- * S&P 500 ends at record high on Apple, economic data * Oil tumbles on weak U.S., euro zone economic reports * Gold falls ahead of central banks' policy meetings * Copper shows steepest monthly fall since last May For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on (Australia/New Zealand bureaux; +61 2 9373 1800/+64 4 471 4234)
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