Sawt Falasteen - US stocks end volatile session higher as oil prices retreat

After oil prices ascended for the first part of the day, benchmark futures contracts reversed course and finished down about two percent.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned that the world may be entering "the red zone" on oil supplies, but markets continue to welcome signs -- even if vague or faint -- that a deal between Washington and Iran could be forthcoming.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope of progress on ending the war with Iran, with mediator Pakistan's army chief due to arrive in the Islamic republic for talks.

"I believe the Pakistanis will be travelling to Tehran today. So hopefully that'll advance this further," Rubio told reporters on Thursday.

Major US indices finished modestly higher after starting in the red, with the broad-based S&P 500 ending up 0.2 percent.

"The market still shows its muscles here. It's very resilient," said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities. "And, of course, is betting on the fact that the war is about to end."

There were earlier big gains for technology stocks in Asia after chip giant Nvidia posted record quarterly revenue of $81.6 billion, blowing past analyst forecasts on the voracious demand for artificial intelligence hardware.

Sentiment was also boosted by Elon Musk's filing for a public sale of SpaceX shares, which could be the largest initial public offering in history as the rocket and satellite company seeks to raise up to $75 billion.

"This could be a blockbuster summer for IPOs with OpenAI also expected to list in the coming weeks," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

"How the market absorbs these new listings will be crucial for the future of the AI trade, as both companies are at the heart of the AI revolution," she said.

South Korea's benchmark Kospi index surged 8.4 percent, helped by Samsung Electronics shares after unions paused an 18-day strike.

Japan's Nikkei index ended with a gain of 3.1 percent.

But the positive sentiment dissipated in European trading, where stocks ended mostly lower.

Despite Nvidia's profit growth, the company's shares failed to get a boost as they have in previous quarters. They initially edged higher but finished down 1.8 percent.

Also lower was Walmart, which tumbled 7.3 percent as traders fretted over the company's cautious forecast and the company's commentary on consumers.

"The high income customer is spending with confidence into many categories while the lower income consumer is more budget conscious and perhaps navigating financial distress," said Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey.

- Key figures at around 2015 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.3 percent at $102.58 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.9 percent at $96.35 a barrel

New York - DOW: UP 0.6 percent at 50,285.66 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 7,445.72

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP .01 percent at 26,293.10

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,443.47 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,086.00 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.5 percent at 24,606.77 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 3.1 percent at 61,684.14 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.0 percent at 25,386.52 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 2.0 percent at 4,077.28 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1622 from $1.1624

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3439 from $1.3435 on Wednesday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.91 yen from 158.92

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.48 pence from 86.52 pence

burs-jmb/sla

R.Halabi--SF-PST