(Updates prices and includes China trade data in paragraph 5)

By Stella Qiu

SYDNEY, May 9 (Reuters) - Asian shares steadied on

Thursday after solid Chinese trade data added to signs domestic

demand in the world's second-largest economy is picking up,

while the yen stabilised after three days of declines as Japan

talked up potential currency interventions.

Later in the day, the Bank of England (BoE) will decide its

interest rate policy, with all eyes on the prospects of a June

rate cut following the overnight move by Sweden's Riksbank to

cut rates, which underlined Europe's divergence from the U.S.

Federal Reserve.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

rose 0.1%, hovering not far from a 15-month high

hit earlier in the week after Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated

a stance for policy easing later this year.

Investors will be focusing on the U.S. consumer inflation

data for April due next Wednesday after three straight prints of

upside surprises for a better sense of the direction of the

Fed's policy.

Chinese customs data showed that imports jumped 8.4% in

April from a year ago, beating expectations for a rise of 4.8%,

while the gain in exports met forecasts.

That helped Chinese shares build on earlier gains, with

bluechip stocks rising 1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng

index increasing 1.2%.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.5%. Nasdaq stock futures

eased 0.1%, dragged lower by Uber ( UBER ), which fell

5.7% overnight as the ride-sharing company issued a downbeat

forecast after a surprise quarterly loss.

"A first rate cut by the Riksbank has not been enough to

further push the bullish sentiment. Eyes are on the Bank of

England," said analysts at ING in a note to clients.

"Since Powell's dovish stance just last week, markets will

listen carefully for a similar direction as the Fed. This also

means that markets may face a surprise if a similar turn

towards more dovishness is not reflected in this BoE meeting."

The Japanese yen steadied at 155.55 per dollar

after falling for three sessions. It rose more than 3% last week

after Japanese authorities likely intervened in the market twice

to stem its fast declines.

On Thursday, the top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said

there is no limit for reserves in currency intervention, keeping

traders on edge, while minutes from the Bank of Japan's April

meeting showed policymakers turned overwhelmingly hawkish,

helping the yen steady.

However, Japan's real wages in March fell 2.5% from a year

earlier, marking declines for two years, an argument for

policymakers to not hike aggressively.

In the Treasuries market, yields were little changed after

edging up the day before, with movements likely to be muted

ahead of the U.S. inflation report next week. Two-year yields

held at 4.8470%, while the 10-year yield

was at 4.5003%, having risen 3 basis points overnight.

Oil prices were higher on Thursday, having bounced off

two-month lows the previous session. Brent futures rose

0.4% to $83.91 a barrel, while U.S. crude gained 0.5% to

$79.40 a barrel.

Gold prices were 0.1% higher at $2,311.23 per ounce.

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