CORRECTED-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks inch higher after mixed U.S. corporate earnings

(Corrects erroneous reference to Japanese markets in paragraph
5, which are closed for a public holiday.)
By Chibuike Oguh
April 29 (Reuters) - Asian equities made cautious gains in
early trade on Wednesday following mixed U.S. corporate earnings
while oil prices looked set for more wild swings as storage
concerns capped optimism about easing coronavirus lockdowns.
Technology stocks drove all three major U.S. stock indexes
into the red, though they remained within 20% of their February
all-time highs.
"There was a big sector rotation as money left high value,
growth sectors in tech like Amazon and went to value and
cyclical sectors like energy, industrial, financials," said Tim
Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in
New York.
Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O earnings beat analysts' estimates
for quarterly revenue as its Google unit posted double-digit
advertising growth despite the coronavirus-induced slowdown.
While users were searching more, they were looking up less
commercial topics and advertisers were cutting
spending. In early Asian trade, Australia .AXJO was up 0.3% and
South Korea .KS11 climbed 0.2%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.2% at
467.95. Japan's markets .N225 were closed for a public
holiday.
Markets were looking for any forward guidance from the U.S.
Federal Reserve, which is due to issue a policy statement at the
close of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. The European Central
Bank meets on Thursday. Analysts said it was unlikely the Fed would make further
major policy moves, given the scope and depth of its efforts to
counter the economic damage caused by the coronavirus.
Reassuring UBS earnings lifted European banks nearly 5%,
while Wall Street digested upbeat numbers from industrial
conglomerate 3M Co MMM.N , a maker of N95 respirator masks, and
drugmaker Pfizer Inc PFE.N .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 0.13%, the S&P
500 .SPX lost 0.52% and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
1.4%.
The greenback gave back some earlier losses as stocks came
off their highs on concerns the coronavirus could spread further
than previously thought if businesses reopened prematurely.
The dollar index =USD against a basket of currencies fell
0.089%. The euro EUR= slipped 0.11% to $1.0816 while the euro
index =EUR eased after Fitch cut Italy's credit rating to
BBB-, just one notch above 'junk' status.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.35% versus the greenback at
106.87 per dollar, while sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.242, down 0.06% on the day.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury US10YT=RR rose 12/32
in price to yield 0.6161%, from 0.654% late on Monday.
Oil prices ended mixed with Brent up on positive sentiment
about the easing of lockdowns, while U.S. crude traders remained
cautious as storage capacity were filling up fast. O/R
Crude prices rose in post-settlement trading after data
showed a slightly smaller-than-expected buildup in stockpiles.
U.S. crude CLc1 recently rose 2.66% to $13.12 per barrel,
and Brent LCOc1 was at $20.74, up 3.75% on the day.

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