Sawt Falasteen - US stocks advance before Apple earnings, US payroll data

The yen wobbled following another surge against the dollar that fuelled speculation Japanese authorities had intervened for a second time this week.

Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell warned Wednesday US interest rates would stay higher for longer, after the central bank left borrowing costs on hold once again.

Powell's remarks, however, were tempered by his assurance that rates would not likely be hiked again, soothing worries in some quarters that the bank's battle to bring inflation back to its two percent target would need to be stepped up.

The Fed also said it would slow down the pace at which it shrinks its balance sheet, having bought up vast amounts of bonds previously to keep rates low.

"As expected, the Fed kept its rates unchanged and said that they are not confident to cut the interest rates as inflation has started to show signs of heating up," said Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.

"Jerome Powell reassured that the Fed's next move will unlikely be a rate hike. That was a relief. Then, the Fed said that it will start tapering quantitative tightening. The market reaction to the decision was mixed."

Wall Street's three major indices closed mixed on Wednesday, but pushed higher on Thursday.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said Powell's comments didn't ease market uncertainty about when the Fed might begin cutting rates.

But O'Hare said "the stock market might be fine living with that uncertainty so long as the economic data and earnings results cooperate with" the Fed's view that the US economy will avoid a recession.

Weekly initial jobless benefits claims came in unchanged at a relatively low 208,000 which O'Hare said can be interpreted as employers remaining optimistic about demand and thus reluctant to cut jobs.

London's stocks rose, helped by forecast-busting first-quarter earnings from energy major Shell, but Frankfurt and Paris retreated as both markets returned from a May Day holiday.

On the earnings front, traders are hotly awaiting quarterly results from iPhone maker Apple amid persistent fears over its performance in Asian powerhouse China.

"Apple results are the focus when the market closes in the US on Thursday night," said XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks.

"We already know that sales of the iPhone, Apple's flagship product, have fallen substantially in China in the first quarter, so the question is what this does to earnings."

Apple shares climbed 1.4 percent in late morning trading on Thursday.

Currency traders will be keeping a nervous watch on the yen on Friday and Monday, which are holidays in Japan that usually cause thin liquidity, while analysts said a strong US jobs report could also send the dollar racing higher again.

Soon after Powell's comments on Wednesday, the yen soared around three percent to 153.04 per dollar, raising suspicion that Japanese officials had stepped into forex markets again.

It subsequently slid back but then pushed higher against the dollar.

A rally on Monday -- after the yen hit a new 34-year low of 160.17 -- had led to similar speculation.

- Key figures around 1530 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 38,078.02 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 5,036.73

New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 15,717.75

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,172.15 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,914.65 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 17,896.50 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.6 percent at 4,890.61 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 38,236.07 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.5 percent at 18,207.13 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 153.78 yen from 154.57 yen on Wednesday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0698 from $1.0712

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2496 from $1.2527

Euro/pound: UP at 85.60 pence from 85.50 pence

West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $78.99 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $83.63 per barrel

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C.Hamad--SF-PST