Sawt Falasteen - Strong US earnings lift stocks as oil prices retreat

Volatile US Treasury yields had affected stock trading Monday in the United States -- uncertainty that transferred to the Asian trading day.

But Tuesday saw a turnaround with the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note skidding below 4.85 percent.

All three major US indices advanced, with the S&P 500 winning 0.7 percent.

Coca-Cola, Verizon and 3M were among the companies propelled higher by strong quarterly results in one of the heaviest days on the reporting calendar.

"A lot of earnings came in today, most of the large-cap companies beat expectations," said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital.

"If this continues then there is a good possibility that the earnings rally could kick in and that should give us a nice finish to the fourth quarter."

However, oil prices drifted down around two percent as markets monitored the Middle Eastern crisis, with Israel still not having followed through on a threatened ground invasion of Gaza.

Analysts also cited lackluster economic data as a factor in the retreat in oil prices.

In Europe, Frankfurt and Paris stocks both added around half of one percent before Thursday's European Central Bank rate decision, while London edged up 0.2 percent to snap a four-day losing streak despite a survey showing shrinking private-sector business activity.

The ECB has lifted its key rates 10 times since July last year to tame surging inflation, though policymakers are expected to pause the tightening campaign this week.

The French luxury sector was a notable poor performer on the day as Kering published a 13 percent drop in sales with the group's star brand Gucci showing sales off 14 percent.

- 'Apprehension and anxiety' -

"Trading has been very choppy at the start of the week -- there's clearly a lot of apprehension and anxiety in the markets which is keeping investors on their toes," OANDA analyst Craig Erlam told AFP.

"This week, we have the ECB, big US tech earnings and inflation figures which may be playing a role. Events in Israel and Gaza are also a huge source of uncertainty," he said.

In Asia, late bargain-hunting saw Tokyo end in positive territory, as did Seoul, Taipei, Jakarta, Singapore and Sydney, but Hong Kong slid back 1.1 percent.

Bitcoin meanwhile soared to briefly cross $35,000 for the first time since May last year.

The surge was caused by "growing exhilaration among investors regarding the potential approval of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund", said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.

- Key figures around 2050 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 33,141.38 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.7 percent at 4,247.68 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.9 percent at 13,139.87 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,389.70 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 14,879.94 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 6,893.65 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 4,065.37 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 16,991.53 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 31,062.35 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 2,962.24 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0593 from $1.0644 on Monday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2161 from $1.2248

Dollar/yen: UP at 149.89 yen from 149.63 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.08 pence from 86.90 pence

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.0 percent at $88.07 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.0 percent at $83.74 per barrel

N.Shalabi--SF-PST