* Spreadbetters expect mixed European open
* Stocks dip after data shows slowing China money supply growth
* Dollar holds ground vs euro, yen after overnight bounce
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, April 15 (Reuters) - Nerves got the better of Asian share markets on Tuesday as they turned lower after an upbeat U.S. retail sales report was eclipsed by soft data from China, providing a stark reminder to investors of the headwinds facing the world's second-largest economy.
The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.3 percent, handing back earlier modest gains made after the U.S. data had helped Wall Street bounce from a sharp selloff in recent days.
Financial spreadbetters see cautious start to trading in Europe, tipping Britain's FTSE 100 to open flat, and Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 to eke out slim gains.
Data released on Tuesday showed China's money supply grew at the weakest pace in more than a decade in March in another sign of softening economic momentum. Global markets have been buffeted in recent months by a spate of weak Chinese data, raising concerns of a deepening economic slowdown.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.9 percent, and trading in much of the rest of Asia lacked conviction to lift riskier assets.
The tense geopolitical backdrop in Ukraine kept investors on edge, which also undermined risk appetite.
Ukraine's president threatened military action after pro-Russian separatists occupying government buildings in the east ignored an ultimatum to leave and another group of rebels attacked a police headquarters in the region. The flare-up came less than a month after Russia completed its annexation of Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula.
Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend and rose 0.8 percent after skidding to a six-month low on Monday.
On Monday, encouraging retail sales from the world's biggest economy, which had been bogged down by a harsh winter, gave some respite for the Standard & Poor's and Nasdaq indexes, which had just suffered their worst week since June 2012.
In the currency markets, the dollar held steady after the solid U.S. retail sales data. The euro remained under pressure on weekend comments from European Central Bank officials, including ECB President Mario Draghi, who rekindled speculation about more easing in the euro zone.
The dollar stood at 101.91 yen, little changed from late New York trade on Monday, when it pulled away from a three-week trough of 101.32 hit late last week.
The euro was also steady at $1.3815, having been knocked off a three-week peak of $1.3906 hit last week on the back of the dovish comments from ECB officials.