* Copper up 2.3 pct on LME, down 1.7 pct on ShFE * Greek PM wins cabinet backing for austerity referendum * China's stocks rise, reversing morning's decline * China's refined copper Jan-Sept consumption up 8 pct * Coming Up: U.S. FOMC rate decision; 1215 GMT (Updates prices, adds quotes, details) By Carrie Ho SHANGHAI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - London copper rose on Wednesday after two days of losses, with investors cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting later in the day. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 2.3 percent to $7,910 a tonne by 0734 GMT, after losing 3.3 percent in the previous session. "London copper prices had bottomed out after previous price falls had digested most of the negative news out there, including the turn of events in Greece. Unless we get news that is very negative, I think prices should stabilize," said China Futures Co analyst Yang Jun. The most-active January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFc3 fell 1.7 percent to 58,670 yuan ($9,060) per tonne, catching up with previous losses in London. "The Shanghai base metals complex has been tracking Chinese equities, which were down earlier in the day, but lifted again after official comments that China's economy was on the right track," Yang said. China stocks ended up 1.4 percent on Wednesday, reversing the morning's decline, after China's Vice Finance Minister confirmed the economy was on the right track and said macro-economic policies would be flexible to deal with any difficulties. "Base metal prices are in a consolidation stage at the moment and volatility is to be expected. In view of where prices have been, I don't think that today's movements are too significant," said Minmetals Futures analyst Zhang Ao. Greece's shock call for a referendum on a European plan to bail it out has sent most financial markets lower, but some analysts were cheered by the fact that the cabinet of Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou backed his decision. "Perhaps investors are more hopeful today that Greece will be able to push through austerity measures via the referendum. I think the markets are taking a more measured view after the negative reactions yesterday," said Citigroup head of metals research David Thurtell. Some market players speculated that the failure of futures brokerage MF Global may have contributed to copper's rise on the LME on Wednesday, as it is the day of the month when options to be exercised are declared. "It's possible that some MF Global clients who have bought options to sell copper at prices below the current price can't exercise today even though these are in the money," said a Singapore-based copper trader. "Options are over the counter products and are not protected by LCH.Clearnet," he added. China's refined copper consumption for the first nine months of this year rose 8 percent to 5.46 million tonnes, the president of the China Non Ferrous Metals Industry Association said on Wednesday. Global factory activity slowed in October on weak demand for exports, with a sharp contraction in Britain's manufacturing sector suggesting Europe was on the brink of a new recession. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc said on Tuesday that production and processing rates at its strike-hit Grasberg nine in Indonesia have fallen below levels needed to meet fourth-quarter sales targets. Base metals prices at 0734 GMT Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 7910.00 180.00 +2.33 -17.60 SHFE CU FUT JAN2 58670 960 +1.66 -18.34 LME Alum 2123.25 12.25 +0.58 -14.04 SHFE AL FUT JAN2 16285 -55 -0.34 -3.30 HG COPPER DEC1 358.60 8.35 +2.38 -19.23 LME Zinc 1930.50 17.50 +0.91 -21.33 SHFE ZN FUT JAN2 15325 20 +0.13 -21.31 LME Nickel 18867.00 267.00 +1.44 -23.77 LME Lead 2000.25 18.25 +0.92 -21.56 SHFE PB FUT 15285 -30 -0.20 -16.70 LME Tin 21705.00 -45.00 -0.21 -19.31 LME/Shanghai arb 135 Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months ^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE third month ($1 = 6.354 Chinese Yuan) (Reporting by Carrie Ho; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Source