  We report direction-dependent susceptibility and resistivity measurements on
La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ single crystals. These crystals have rectangular
needle-like shapes with the crystallographic "c" direction parallel or
perpendicular to the needle axis,which, in turn, is in the applied field
direction. At optimal doping we find finite diamagnetic susceptibility above
$T_{c}$, namely fluctuating superconductivity (FSC), only when the field is
perpendicular to the planes. In underdoped samples we could find FSC in both
field directions. We provide a phase diagram showing the FSC region, although
it is sample dependent in the underdoped cases. The variations in the
susceptibility data suggest a different origin for the FSC between underdoping
(below 10%) and optimal doping. Finally, our data indicates that the
spontaneous vortex diffusion constant above $T_c$ is anomalously high.
