* U.S. stocks edge up as oil rebounds
* Oil prices turn higher after government data
* Dollar up against euro ahead of ECB meeting
(Updates with U.S. market openings, changes dateline, previous
LONDON)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, April 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices gained on
Wednesday as government data showed U.S. crude stocks rose
slightly less than expected last week, while the U.S. dollar
advanced against the euro ahead of Thursday's European Central
Bank meeting.
U.S. stocks edged up in late-morning trade following gains
in energy shares and some upbeat earnings reports.
Brent crude oil LCOc1 was up 77 cents at $44.80 a barrel,
while U.S. crude CLc1 was up 67 cents at $41.75 a barrel. Oil
prices had been lower earlier after Kuwaiti workers ended a
three-day strike.
On Wall Street, investors are focused on the earnings season
as they seek catalysts to drive stocks higher. Intuitive
Surgical ISRG.O rose 3.9 percent after stronger-than-expected
profit, though Coca-Cola KO.N was down 4.5 percent after
reporting a drop in sales.
"If earnings continue to surprise on the upside, you could
see people ... join the rally and that money from the sidelines
will move into the market," said Nadia Lovell, U.S. Equity
Specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 43.86 points,
or 0.24 percent, to 18,097.46, the S&P 500 .SPX had gained
3.96 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,104.76 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC had added 19.38 points, or 0.39 percent, to
4,959.71.
The MSCI All-Country World index .MIWD00000PUS was up 0.2
percent, while the FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 of top
European shares was up 0.6 percent.
The U.S. dollar rose against the euro on fears that comments
from the ECB on Thursday could hurt the European currency, while
some riskier commodity currencies remained near multi-month
highs on greater relief over China's economy.
The ECB, though, is not expected to make any policy changes
at its meeting on Thursday. It is expected to reiterate its
plans to support the euro zone economy, according to analysts.
The euro eased from a one-week high against the dollar of
$1.1386 touched earlier in the session and was last down 0.28
percent at $1.1324 EUR= ahead of the ECB's Thursday meeting.
U.S. Treasuries were steady and yields held in their recent
tight range with no major economic releases due this week and as
investors looked ahead to next week's Federal Reserve meeting.
Benchmark 10-year note yields US10YT=RR fell to 1.77
percent, down from 1.78 percent on Tuesday. Yields have held
between 1.81 percent and 1.69 percent since the beginning of
April.