* Fresh shorts seen in China copper market * Markets to watch China NBS PMI Thursday, jobs data Friday * U.S. Comex floor closed but electronic trade open as Hurricane Sandy eyed * Coming Up; Chicago Fed Mfg index for Sep at 1230 GMT (Adds comment, detail on Hurricane Sandy, updates prices) By Melanie Burton SINGAPORE, Oct 29 (Reuters) - London copper edged down on Monday, but held above 7-week lows plumbed last week, as concern about global growth and leadership change clouded its demand outlook, but the prospect of a recovering U.S. economy cushioned prices. The U.S. election on Nov. 6 and the first stage of China's leadership transition on Nov. 8 have kept traders cautious, with investors torn between signs of stable U.S. growth and wariness over the global corporate earnings outlook. "People can't really see much optimism out there. We wanted the U.S. corporate earnings to be a little more robust," said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of Barratt's Bulletin, a Sydney-based commodity research firm. "We've got the Nov. 6 election and the market will focus on who will get in, so we will see a negative to range bound market before then," he added. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange traded at $7,791.50 a tonne by 0702 GMT, down 0.31 percent from the previous session when prices finished flat. Copper on Friday touched its lowest since Sept. 7 at $7,756.25 a tonne. Prices fell 2.4 percent last week in their largest weekly fall in four months, having been up nearly 11 percent for the year at one point in September. Copper is currently up 2.5 percent for the year. The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged down 0.18 percent to 56,920 yuan ($9,100) a tonne. European stocks were seen opening mixed on Monday following last week's losses, as investors fret about the outlook for corporate profits following a string of disappointing quarterly results. Weekend data from China showed industrial profits rose 7.8 percent in September from a year earlier to 464.3 billion yuan ($74 billion), up from a 6.2 percent drop in August, while markets eye the U.S. election outcome. "Given Obama's regulatory stances, an Obama victory would likely be interpreted bearishly by financial markets, and could have a modestly negative impact on job growth and corporate investment in Q4 2012," said Jason Schenker at Prestige Economics. Still a resolution to uncertainty and further green shoots suggesting a recovery is sprouting could help metals prices rally into the end of the year, INTL-FC Stone said in a note. All U.S. stock markets will be closed on Monday and possibly Tuesday, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange said late on Sunday as Hurricane Sandy, a mammoth storm menacing the East Coast, took aim at the most densely populated U.S. region. CME is to close U.S. equity index futures and options on Monday but all its other CME Group futures and options - such as Comex copper - on futures markets will remain open, it said. Figures that could impact metals prices later this week include China's official purchasing managers index for September on Thursday and US jobs figures for October on Friday. SPECS EXIT For now, speculators continue to exit long copper positions with signs of fresh short positions emerging in China. Bullish bets on U.S. commodities by hedge funds and other big speculators have fallen to a near 2-1/2 month low, trade data showed on Friday, as oil and gold saw heavy selling for a second straight week. SHFE figures paint a similar picture, notes Standard Bank, as open interest last week gained 6.9 percent while prices for the January 2013 contract fell by just over 2 percent. "This suggests bears are in the ascendancy, in China at least, even amid a market often dominated by a large day-trading population," it said in a note. PRICES Base metals prices at 0702 GMT Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 7791.50 -24.50 -0.31 2.52 SHFE CU FUT FEB3 56580 -100 -0.18 2.20 HG COPPER DEC2 353.85 -1.15 -0.32 2.98 LME Alum 1919.00 -3.00 -0.16 -5.00 SHFE AL FUT JAN3 15370 60 +0.39 -3.00 LME Zinc 1841.50 7.50 +0.41 -0.19 SHFE ZN FUT JAN3 14685 40 +0.27 -0.74 LME Nickel 16050.00 45.00 +0.28 -14.22 LME Lead 2026.00 11.00 +0.55 -0.44 SHFE PB FUT 15170.00 20.00 +0.13 -0.75 LME Tin 19980.00 180.00 +0.91 4.06 LME/Shanghai arb^ 202 Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months ($1 = 6.2489 Chinese yuan)

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