* China PMI a tick under forecasts at 50.4, offers little clarity
* Nikkei bounces as Wall St proves resilient to poor US GDP
* Fed keeps upbeat outlook, investors give it benefit of doubt
By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) - Asian markets suffered only a brief wobble on Thursday as data on China's vast manufacturing sector just missed forecasts, with upbeat earnings news helping Japanese stocks stage their biggest rally in two weeks.
Holidays across most of Asia muted the reaction when Beijing's official measure of manufacturing activity came in at 50.4 in April, up a tick from March but under forecasts of 50.5.
The middling outcome was not enough to lessen concerns about the economy, but neither did it point to a deepening slowdown.
There was also better news from South Korea as its exports grew at the fastest annual pace in over a year, suggesting the recovery in global demand was gathering energy after a soft start to the year.
The conflicted mood was clear in the Australian dollar, often a bellwether for market thinking on China given the country is a major exporter of resources to the Asian giant.
After an initial dip to $0.9279, the currency quickly rebounded to $0.9290 to be a shade firmer on the day.
Japan's Nikkei likewise recovered to close 1.3 percent higher thanks in part to some impressive profit reports.
Nomura Holdings jumped 6.3 percent in heavy trade after posting upbeat earnings and announcing a share buyback plan. Rival Daiwa Securities Group gained 3.1 percent following its own earnings.
Brokerage shares gained 4.7 percent, by far the top performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry subindexes.
With so many markets shut, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hardly moved.
Sentiment had been supported somewhat by Wall Street where the Dow notched up its first record high of the year. The Dow ended up 0.27 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq 0.27 percent.
That was a resilient performance given that data had shown the U.S. economy grew just 0.1 percent annualised in the first quarter, far below already gloomy forecasts of 1.2 percent.
Net exports, inventories and investment all dragged on growth, with household spending the only bright spot.
FED STAYS HOPEFUL
Still, investors have been willing to give the economy the benefit of the doubt in expectations of a rebound this quarter, and other data did offer some supporting evidence.
A closely watched indicator of manufacturing activity in the Chicago area jumped to 63.0 in April, to be well above forecasts, while the ADP report on private sector employment showed a rise of 220,000.