Star Metro - European stock markets head into Easter break with slight gains

Asian indices closed mixed after a Federal Reserve official floated the idea of delaying or reducing cuts to US interest rates, boosting the dollar.

The yen steadied having hit a 34-year low against the dollar on Wednesday. Oil prices rose more than one percent on persistent concerns over the possibility of tight supplies.

Major stock markets "are still hovering around record levels, and market optimism remains high", noted Pierre Veyret, analyst at ActivTrades.

"Investors continue to bet on upcoming rate cuts from central banks around the world."

The London, Paris and Frankfurt stock markets rose slightly in midday deals and ahead of closing on Friday and Monday for Easter.

A recent market rally has started to peter out as traders assess the outlook for US monetary policy, with a string of above-forecast inflation and economic data leading some to question whether the central bank can stick to its projection of three cuts this year.

Confidence has not been helped by comments from Fed officials in the past week.

Attention moves to the release Friday of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index -- the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation -- which is expected to show a slight uptick.

Despite the worries over stubbornly-high inflation, all three main indices on Wall Street rose Wednesday, with the S&P 500 clocking another record high.

Tokyo finished with a loss of 1.5 percent Thursday as the yen stabilises a day after reaching its weakest level since 1990.

That followed comments from a Bank of Japan official warning monetary policy would remain accommodative for some time.

That comment came a week after the bank lifted interest rates for the first time in 17 years as it shifts away from its long-running ultra-loose monetary policy, while talk of the Fed putting off its rate cut has added upward pressure to the greenback.

The slide has fuelled speculation authorities will step in to support the unit, with Vice Finance Minister Masato Kanda warning that he was ready to do whatever was necessary.

- Key figures around 1215 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,952.37 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 at 8,223.63

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 18,500.32

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 5,091.46

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.5 percent at 40,168.07 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 16,541.42 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,010.66 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 39,760.08 (close)

Dollar/yen: UP at 151.36 yen from 151.34 yen on Wednesday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0786 from $1.0831

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2616 from $1.2641

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.52 pence from 85.66 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.3 percent at $87.23 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.3 percent at $82.42 per barrel

T. MacDonald--SMC