(Updates at 0545 GMT)

By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Asia shares eased on

Wednesday on the back of weakness in China, as investors brace

for a tightly contested U.S. election that could have huge

ramifications for the world's second-largest economy, even as

Beijing steps up efforts to shore up growth.

Gold rose to an all-time high of $2,784.82 an ounce

as jitters over the close U.S. presidential race supported the

yellow metal. Bitcoin also flirted with a record peak as

markets weigh the prospect of a victory by Republican candidate

Donald Trump.

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

fell to a one-month trough and last traded 1%

lower, tracking a decline in Chinese assets.

The CSI300 blue-chip index slumped 1.3%, while the

Shanghai Composite Index lost 1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng

Index slid 1.82%.

The moves came even as Reuters reported on Tuesday that

China is considering approving next week the issuance of more

than 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in extra debt in the next

few years to revive its fragile economy.

"China's latest stimulus package appears underwhelming, with

60% allocated to local government debt relief," said Saxo's

chief investment strategist Charu Chanana.

"While there's a stronger focus on supporting the property

sector, urgency around broader structural issues - such as debt,

deflation, and demographics - remains limited.

"Foreign investors are still highly concerned about

potential tariff threats if next week's U.S. elections result in

a Republican sweep."

China's new energy vehicles index fell 1.9%,

weighed down in part by news that the European Union has decided

to increase tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles to as

much as 45.3%.

Elsewhere, EUROSTOXX 50 futures fell 0.42% and FTSE

futures lost 0.45% ahead of a UK budget expected later

in the day, where finance minister Rachel Reeves will announce

what may be the biggest tax hikes in three decades.

U.S. stock futures ticked higher, buoyed by a solid result

from Google-parent Alphabet, which reported quarterly

revenue that beat estimates.

Nasdaq futures edged up 0.06%, while S&P 500 futures

tacked on 0.07%.

Meta Platforms ( META ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) report their

earnings later in the day, followed by Apple ( AAPL ) and

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) on Thursday.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.9%, riding on the

momentum of a weaker yen.

U.S. FOCUS

Bitcoin stood just a whisker away from its peak of

$73,803.25 and last bought $72,479.00, on track to gain 13% for

the month.

The world's largest cryptocurrency has been bolstered by

trades betting that Trump could be president again, although he

is still neck and neck with Vice President Kamala Harris in

several polls.

Trump is seen taking a more favourable stance towards

digital assets.

"Bitcoin's strength should persist if the odds for a

Republican sweep continue to grow, as a less likely Democratic

sweep might meet a generalised sell-off," said Manuel Villegas,

digital assets analyst at Julius Baer.

On the economic front, investors were also bracing for a

slew of U.S. data this week that could guide the outlook for

Federal Reserve policy.

The ADP National Employment Report is due later in the day

alongside advance third quarter GDP estimates, which will come

ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls figures.

Data on Tuesday showed U.S. job openings dropped to more

than a 3-1/2-year low in September.

"The U.S. data is still important for this week, there's no

doubt about it," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ.

"We saw the JOLTS data out last night, it showed continued

moderation of the labour market ... Today we have ADP, Q3 GDP,

PCE deflator tomorrow and then payrolls Friday. So that will

still be really important, particularly for the long-end yields

and the impact on the dollar."

The dollar strayed not too far from a three-month high

against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, though a

stall in its recent rally gave sterling some respite

above the $1.30 level.

The yen languished near a three-month low as it

continued to feel the pressure from the loss of a parliamentary

majority for Japan's ruling coalition in weekend elections.

The Aussie was little changed in the wake of

domestic inflation data and last edged 0.26% lower to $0.6543.

In commodities, Brent crude futures ticked up 0.62%

to $71.56 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude

futures rose 0.76% to $67.72 per barrel.