HONG KONG, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares could end their best week in a year on a muted note on Friday as investors mark time ahead of U.S. jobs data later in the day that may lead the Federal Reserve to start cutting back stimulus later this month.

  On Thursday, the Hang Seng Index ended up 1.2 percent at 22,597.97 points, its highest closing level since May 28. The benchmark is on track for its biggest weekly gain in a year, now up 4 percent.

  The China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong climbed 1 percent on Thursday to bring its gains on the week to 5.3 percent.

  Elsewhere in Asia at 0040 GMT, Japan's Nikkei was down 1 percent, while South Korea's KOSPI was flat.

  FACTORS TO WATCH:

  * The Portuguese government has shortlisted Chinese group Fosun International and a unit of U.S. investment fund Apollo Global Management for the privatisation of the insurance arm of state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depositos.

  * PetroChina plans to start up its new 200,000 barrels per day refinery in southwest China's Sichuan province in late October, company officials said on Thursday, after several delays.

  * Building materials maker BBMG Corporation said it planned to sell 500.9 million A shares to its parent and an unnamed fund at 5.58 yuan per share, raising 2.795 billion yuan to fund the construction of a logistics park and a furniture manufacturing project.

  * Anton Oilfield Services Group said it has won a tender to provide horizontal multistage fracturing services in a block of tight oil and tight gas wells in the Erdos Basin.

  * CMMB Vision Holdings Ltd said it has entered into agreement with New York Broadband Holding Ltd to buy three UHF TV station spectrum usage rights in three U.S. cities: Dallas-Fort Worth in Texas, along with Miami and Tampa in Florida.(Reporting by Clement Tan and Donny Kwok Editing by Eric Meijer)

NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended slightly higher, rising for a third day on Thursday after strong data indicated improving economic conditions, but caution capped gains ahead of Friday's payrolls report and its implication for the Federal Reserve's stimulus program.

  Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 6.15 points, or 0.04 percent, at 14,937.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.94 points, or 0.12 percent, at 1,655.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 9.74 points, or 0.27 percent, at 3,658.79.

HONG KONG, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares were largely flat on Friday, with many investors staying on the sidelines awaiting a report on the health of Chinese manufacturing.

  On Friday, the Hang Seng Index ended up 0.1 percent at 21,731.37, while the China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong fell 0.3 percent.

  The HSI was down 0.6 percent for the week and off 0.7 percent for the month. The HSCE shed 1.1 percent this week, and was up 1.7 percent during August.

  China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) for August, the latest indicator of manufacturing activity in the mainland, is due on Sunday.

* Uncertainty over possible strike on Syria makes for thin volume

  * Investors avoid big bets before long Labor Day weekend

  * Salesforce.com jumps after results, outlook

  * Indexes down: Dow 0.2 pct S& P 0.3 pct Nasdaq 0.8 pct

  By Ryan Vlastelica

  NEW YORK, Aug 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell in a thinly traded session on Friday as the S& P 500 index recorded its steepest decline since May 2012 and investors avoided making large bets before a long weekend with the situation about Syria still uncertain.

  Afternoon trading was volatile, with indexes swinging between break-even levels and solid losses as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in televised remarks that Syria's government used poison gas against civilians and made the case for a limited military response.

  President Barack Obama said later he has not made a final decision on a response to Syria.

  " People are uneasy not knowing what's going on," said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston. " With that uncertainty and going into the Labor Day holiday, we're seeing people step back."

  The S& P 500 fell 3.1 percent in August and lost 1.8 percent for the week in a third decline in the past four weeks.

  The CBOE Volatility index rose 2.2 percent, bringing its weekly rise to 22 percent. Trading was light ahead of Monday's market holiday for Labor Day. About 3.99 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT, below the daily average so far this year of about 6.31 billion shares.

  " I tend to view the weakness as a buying opportunity, barring some global crisis," said Carey, who helps oversee about $200 billion in assets. " Syria isn't the crisis in and of itself, but if we do take military action, there could be repercussions." Military action " is always very risky."

  The Dow Jones industrial average was down 33.26 points, or 0.22 percent, at 14,807.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 5.40 points, or 0.33 percent, at 1,632.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 30.44 points, or 0.84 percent, at 3,589.87.

  The Nasdaq fell 1.9 percent for the week while the Dow slid 1.3 percent in its fourth straight weekly loss. For the month, the Dow fell 4.4 percent and the Nasdaq lost 1 percent. Only one of the 30 Dow components, Microsoft Corp, ended higher for the month.

  Almost 70 percent of stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange closed lower while 73 percent of Nasdaq-listed shares ended in negative territory.

  Video game companies were among the Nasdaq's biggest decliners on Friday. Electronic Arts fell 3.4 percent to $26.64 while Activision Blizzard fell 2.6 percent to $16.32.

  Weak data on individual spending and tame inflation painted a picture of a soft economy, keeping investors guessing when the Federal Reserve might start to cut back on stimulus measures.

  Consumer spending rose only 0.1 percent and inflation was tame in July, with a price index for consumer spending up 0.1 percent.

  Other data showed the pace of business activity in the U.S. Midwest increased in August, as the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer rose to 53.0 from 52.3 in July, matching economists' expectations.

  The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment slipped to 82.1 in August from 85.1 in July, but managed to top economists' expectations for a final read of 80.5.

  Salesforce.com Inc jumped 12.6 percent to $49.13 and was the best performer in the S& P 500 after the company raised its fiscal 2014 sales outlook after reporting better-than-expected revenue and earnings.

  Apache Corp climbed 9 percent to $85.68 after the oil and gas producer said it was selling a 33 percent stake in its Egypt oil and gas business for $3.1 billion to state-owned Chinese oil giant Sinopec Group.

  Omnivision Technologies Inc tumbled 16 percent to $15.45 after the chipmaker forecast current-quarter adjusted profit largely below expectations as rising competition and a slowdown of U.S. smartphone sales led to an inventory pile-up.

By Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Hosenball

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies publicly disclosed on Friday some of the information that led to a " high-confidence" assessment that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad carried out a chemical weapons attack on neighborhoods outside Damascus.

  But the declassified intelligence report also showed what the U.S. government does not have: clear evidence that Assad personally ordered the attack, and physiological evidence confirming what caused the deaths of an estimated 1,429 Syrians on August 21.

  U.S. officials insisted that because of the way the Syrian government and its chemical weapons program operates, Assad's government bears clear responsibility for the attack.

  " We have a high-confidence assessment that a chemical weapons attack took place and that the Assad regime was responsible," a senior administration official told reporters in a conference call after the declassified intelligence report was released.

  President Barack Obama's administration made clear on Friday that it would punish Assad for the " brutal and flagrant" attack.

  The intelligence was compiled from human sources, electronic intercepts and satellite imagery, as well as public sources such as social media and reports by non-governmental organizations and medical groups.

  U.S. intelligence about weapons of mass destruction has been suspect since spy agencies, with encouragement from senior officials in President George W. Bush's administration, reported in 2002 that Iraq had active chemical, nuclear and biological weapons programs. The findings were used to justify the 2003 U.S. invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, but no such programs were discovered.

  " Our intelligence community has carefully reviewed and re-reviewed information regarding this attack. And I will tell you it has done so more than mindful of the Iraq experience. We will not repeat that moment," Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday.

  A team of U.N. investigators in Damascus was due to leave Syria on Saturday, but a U.N. spokesman said it would take time to complete its analysis.

  Two diplomats told Reuters that U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon informed the five permanent Security Council members that analysis of the samples collected by the inspectors could take up to two weeks.

  Kerry said the team's mandate was limited to determining whether a chemical attack occurred - not who was responsible - and that Washington had no doubt on either score.

  Syria's Foreign Ministry repeated the government's denial it had used chemical weapons and said Kerry's accusations were a " desperate attempt" to justify a military strike.

  'CHAIN OF COMMAND'

  The four-page intelligence assessment did not include raw data, such as transcripts of intercepted communications, which U.S. officials said must stay classified to protect sources and methods.

  The document rejects allegations - made by the Syrian government and its ally Russia, among others - that anti-Assad rebels staged the attack. The rebels have neither the type of rockets and artillery used in the attack, nor the capability to fabricate videos seen on social media or symptoms verified by medical personnel, it said.

  The intercepted communications showed the involvement of high-level Syrian government officials, U.S. officials said.

  " We intercepted communications involving a senior official intimately familiar with the offensive who confirmed that chemical weapons were being used by the regime on August 21st and was concerned with the U.N. inspectors obtaining evidence," a senior administration official said.

  The officials also pointed to intelligence showing that, in the run-up to the attack, personnel from the Syrian government agency that conducts non-conventional weapons development and the Defense Ministry chain of command were involved in preparations. At some point, intelligence information also indicated that the Syrian chain of command ordered chemical weapons attacks to stop, they said.

  Those events " implicate different individuals who have a connection to the Syrian regime and, specifically, its chemical weapons program," said one official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

  " It wasn't just the preparations that we detected in those three days in advance of Wednesday - it was also the people that were involved. They were the people that are responsible for his program. There is a chain of command from Assad to them," an official added.

  U.S. security sources said one Syrian official whose activities were under examination was Maher Assad, younger brother of the president and commander of Syria's Republican Guard and an elite armored division. What role, if any, he played in the attack is still unclear, they said.

  MARSHALING SUPPORT

  In releasing the report, Obama and his aides were seeking to marshal public and congressional support for what Obama has said might be a " tailored, limited" military strike on Syria to deter further chemical weapons use.

  The effort has been complicated by the Iraq experience, which helped drive Britain's decision on Thursday not to take part in any Syria campaign.

  A declassified October 2002 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq's WMD programs said there was " high confidence" that Iraq was holding on to, and in some areas expanding, its chemical, biological, nuclear and missile programs.

  The intelligence report on Syria released on Friday used the same terminology, adding, " Our high confidence assessment is the strongest position that the U.S. Intelligence Community can take short of confirmation."

  The report said Syrian forces began making visible preparations for what turned out to be a chemical attack three days before the event, including " utilization" of gas masks.

  Syrian government forces early on August 21 began to launch rockets and artillery from a government-controlled area against neighborhoods where rebels had maintained a stubborn and persistent presence, the report said.

  One official said the government had been trying to clear the area of rebels for some time, possibly so that it could re-deploy its forces to crack down on rebels in the major Syrian city of Aleppo.

  A few hours after the initial assault, social media began reporting what the United States now believes was a chemical attack from at least 12 locations in the Damascus area where suspected chemical-filled rockets were fired into rebel-controlled areas.

  The intelligence report said a " nerve agent" was used in the attack, but did not specify which one and said the Syrian government maintains a stockpile of " numerous chemical agents" including mustard, sarin, and VX.

  (Editing by Warren Strobel and Peter Cooney)

By Steve Holland and Catherine Bremer

  WASHINGTON/PARIS (Reuters) - The United States made clear on Friday that it would punish Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the " brutal and flagrant" chemical weapons attack that it says killed more than 1,400 people in Damascus last week.

  " We cannot accept a world where women and children and innocent civilians are gassed on a terrible scale," President Barack Obama told reporters at the White House.

  He said the United States was still in the planning process for a " limited, narrow" military response that would not involve " boots on the ground" or be open-ended. He set no timetable for action.

  Secretary of State John Kerry said it was essential not to let Syria get away with the attack, partly as a sign to those who might consider using chemical weapons in the future.

  " History would judge us all extraordinarily harshly if we turned a blind eye to a dictator's wanton use of weapons of mass destruction," Kerry said in a televised statement.

  Syria's foreign ministry repeated the government's denial that it had used chemical weapons and said Kerry's accusations were a " desperate attempt" to justify a military strike. " What he said was lies," the ministry said of Kerry's statement.

  With France on Friday affirming its support for a military response to punish Assad's government, the statements from Obama and Kerry appeared to harden the resolve for a U.S. attack despite Thursday's British parliamentary " no" vote that left Washington without one of its closest allies.

  The timing of the attack, most likely with cruise missiles from U.S. Navy destroyers already stationed in the eastern Mediterranean, was uncertain, but it was unlikely to come before U.N. weapons experts leave Syria on Saturday.

  Kerry said that " if a thug and a murderer like Bashar al-Assad can gas thousands of his own people with impunity," it would set a bad example for others, such as Iran, Hezbollah and North Korea.

  Obama said chemical weapons attacks such as last week's threatened U.S. national security interests as well as U.S. allies such as Israel, Turkey and Jordan.

  " So, I have said before, and I meant what I said, that the world has an obligation to make sure that we maintain the norm against the use of chemical weapons," he said.

  Kerry laid out a raft of evidence he said showed Assad's forces were behind the attack, and the U.S. government released an unclassified intelligence report at the same time including many of the details. The report said the August 21 attack killed 1,429 Syrian civilians, including 426 children.

  The intelligence included an intercepted communication by a senior official intimately familiar with the attack as well as other intelligence from people's accounts and intercepted messages, the four-page report said.

  " Any action that he (Obama) might decide to take will be (a) limited and tailored response to ensure that a despot's brutal and flagrant use of chemical weapons is held accountable," Kerry said.

  Assad's government has accused rebels of perpetrating the attacks in order to provoke intervention.

  Syrian state television, which did not carry Kerry's speech live, reported that Kerry said the " first and last" aim of any action the Obama administration will carry out in the Middle East was to " guarantee the security of Israel."

  Kerry said the U.N. inspectors' report would only confirm that chemical weapons were used and made clear it would not change much for Washington since " guaranteed Russian obstructionism" would make it impossible for the U.N. to galvanize world action.

  " The primary question is really no longer, what do we know? The question is, what are we - we collectively - what are we in the world going to do about it?" Kerry said.

  The timing of any strikes may be complicated by Obama's departure late on Tuesday for Sweden and a G20 summit in Russia.

  SHIFTING ALLIANCES

  Kerry and Obama were speaking the day after British Prime Minister David Cameron failed to win parliamentary backing for military action in Syria.

  Chancellor George Osborne, one of Cameron's closest allies, accepted that the vote had raised questions about Britain's future relations with its allies.

  French President Francois Hollande told the daily Le Monde he still supported taking " firm" punitive action over an attack he said had caused " irreparable" harm to the Syrian people.

  Hollande is not constrained by the need for parliamentary approval of any move to intervene in Syria and could act before lawmakers debate the issue on Wednesday. An official in his office said the French president spoke to Obama on Friday and " they showed great determination about this crisis."

  Britain has traditionally been the United States' most reliable military ally. However, the defeat of the government motion authorising a military response in principle underscored misgivings dating from how the country decided to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

  Russia, Assad's most powerful diplomatic ally, opposes any military intervention in Syria, saying an attack would increase tension and undermine the chances of ending the civil war.

  Yuri Ushakov, senior foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the British vote represented majority opinion in Europe.

  " People are beginning to understand how dangerous such scenarios are," he told reporters. " Russia is actively working to avert a military scenario in Syria.

  Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said any intervention in Syria should be aimed at ending Assad's rule - a goal that Obama has ruled out.

  U.S. CAUTION

  Kerry said the U.S. intelligence community had carefully reviewed and re-reviewed information regarding the attack. " I will tell you it has done so more than mindful of the Iraq experience. We will not repeat that moment."

  Kerry said that three days before the attack, the Syrian government's chemical weapons personnel were on the ground in the area, making preparations.

  " And we know that the Syrian regime elements were told to prepare for the attack by putting on gas masks and taking precautions associated with chemical weapons."

  " We know that a senior regime official who knew about the attack confirmed that chemical weapons were used by the regime, reviewed the impact, and actually was afraid that they would be discovered," Kerry said.

  Assad's forces fired rockets on Friday at a Damascus suburb hit by poison gas last week in another attempt to capture the strategic area, opposition activists said.

  Polls show the American public is largely opposed to U.S. military action, and after a Thursday briefing some lawmakers said they were still not convinced of the need for it. Some questioned whether the Pentagon could afford to attack Syria after spending cuts imposed this year.

  A new Reuters/Ipsos poll on Friday showed 53 percent of those surveyed this week said the United States should stay out of Syria's civil war, down from 60 percent last week. Twenty percent said the United States should take action, up from 9 percent last week.

  Analysts said there was little doubt about the message from Obama's administration. " I would now be shocked if the U.S. government doesn't go to war, even if alone," said Bilal Saab, director and head of research at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis. " This is as clear a case for intervention, from the administration's standpoint, as can be."

  Some allies, including Italy, have warned that military action without U.N. Security Council authorisation may make matters worse. Russia holds veto power as a permanent Security Council member and has blocked three resolutions meant to press Assad to stop the violence since the revolt began in 2011.

  Western diplomats have been seeking a vote in the 15-member Council on a draft measure, which would authorize " all necessary force" in response to the suspected gas attack, to isolate Moscow and show that other nations back military action.

  But China said there should be no rush to force a council decision on Syria until the U.N. inspectors complete their work.

  The United Nations said its experts had completed the collection of samples and evidence from last week's attack. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said all the analysis of the samples must be completed before conclusions can be drawn.

  Diplomats said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Security Council members it may be two weeks before final results of the tests are ready.

  (Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Andrea Shalal-Esa, Patricia Zengerle, Thomas Ferraro and Jeff Mason in Washington, Erika Solomon and Oliver Holmes in Beirut, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Sarah Marsh in Berlin, Timothy Heritage in Moscow, Phil Stewart in Manila, Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations, Lidia Kelly in Moscow, Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina in Beijing, John Irish in Paris and Andrew Osborn, Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Peter Apps in London Writing by Alistair Lyon and Claudia Parsons editing by David Storey and Jim Loney) Interactive timeline: http://link.reuters.com/rut37s

* Rupee hits new record low

  * Turkey surprises by raising key interest rate

  * Markets nervous before Fed minutes on Wed

  * Indonesian mkts still spooked by wider c/a deficit

  By Andjarsari Paramaditha and Seda Sezer

  JAKARTA/ISTANBUL, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee fell to a record low, Indonesian markets tumbled and Turkey raised a key interest rate to halt a slide in its currency as turmoil in emerging markets deepened on Tuesday in anticipation of reduced U.S. monetary stimulus.

  Global investors had flocked to developing economies in search of higher returns while interest rates in most advanced countries were near zero.

  Some of that footloose money is taking flight now that U.S. interest rates are rising in advance of a scaling back by the Federal Reserve of the huge bond purchases it has been making to spur the U.S. economy. The Fed's 'tapering" could begin as early as next month.

  Emerging markets with shaky economic fundamentals that are dependent on foreign capital have borne the brunt of the sell-off.

  In Indonesia, the rupiah fell 2 percent to 10,700 to the dollar, its lowest level since April 30, 2009, while the Jakarta benchmark share index - which at one point plunged 5.8 percent - shed 3.2 percent for the day.

  Southeast Asia's largest economy spooked markets on Friday by reporting a wider-than-expected deficit on its current account deficit, the broadest measure of trade and payments.

  Josua Pardede, an economist at Bank Internasional Indonesia in Jakarta, said Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank, may have to raise the rate on its overnight deposit facility, or FASBI.

  " The fastest solution to calm the market is the FASBI," Pardede said.

  INDECISIVE INDIA, BOLD TURKEY

  In India, Asia's third-largest economy, the rupee plumbed a record low beyond 64 per dollar before the central bank stepped in as a seller of dollars in both the spot and forward markets.

  India needs foreign capital to plug its perennial current account deficit. But investors have been pulling money out of the country, not putting it in, unsettled by faltering growth and the failure of policy makers to tackle the economy's many underlying problems.

  Foreign funds have sold debt and equity worth $11.8 billion since late May when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke first flagged to markets that he was likely to start buying fewer bonds before the end of the year.

  " The main reasons for the fall in the rupee are India's weakening economic outlook and (fears of) Fed tapering of bond buying," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, vice president at Mecklai Financial.

  Minutes of the Federal Reserve's July meeting, due out on Wednesday, could give clues on whether the U.S. central bank is likely to start trimming its monthly bond purchases next month.

  Markets have been unimpressed by the steps India has taken to reduce pressure on its current account. These include a ban on the duty-free import of flat-screen TVs and an easing of rules governing investment in Indian shares and bonds by non-resident Indians.

  Turkey's central bank, by contrast, surprised the market by raising its overnight lending rate for the second month in a row.

  It said it could take more steps if needed and would stick to its policy stance until inflation - which hit 9 percent in July - fell towards its medium-term target of 5 percent.

  Like Indonesia and India, Turkey has a gaping current account deficit - at around 7 percent of annual output - and depends on foreign inflows to fill the gap.

  Raising interest rates makes lira assets more attractive to foreign investors, supporting the currency, but could also crimp growth, something Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government is eager to avoid ahead of an election cycle starting next year.

  The Turkish lira firmed after the rate rise.

  " The central bank is trying still to keep the lira's head below the parapet, keep lira depreciation in the middle of the pack of emerging markets forex, while still focused on the uncertain outlook for growth," said Standard Bank economist Timothy Ash.

  The lira is down 8.7 percent so far this year and is well above record lows touched in July. By contrast, the rupee, South African rand and Brazilian real have lost 14-17 percent against the dollar this year.

  Neil Shearing with Capital Economics, a London consultancy, said there were reasons to believe that some emerging market currencies might not have much further to fall.

  Currencies are notoriously difficult to forecast, Shearing said in a note. " Even so, from an economic perspective, it seems that in several countries the bulk of adjustment in currencies that was needed to restore external competitiveness may now have taken place." he wrote.

* U.S. bond yields scale back from two-year highs

  * Global stock markets weaker but Wall Street steady

  * Wednesday's Fed minutes could clarify policy outlook

  * U.S. dollar falls to 6-month low against euro

  By Richard Leong

  NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. bond yields receded from two-year highs on Tuesday on revived safe-haven bids as prices on world stock exchanges fell to the lowest level in over a month on concerns that less U.S. monetary stimulus will hamper global growth.

  The dollar fell against major currencies, hitting a six-month low against the euro, while a weaker U.S. currency helped steady gold prices. Wall Street stocks were up slightly.

  Speculation whether the U.S. Federal Reserve might shrink its bond purchases at its policy meeting next month also knocked oil prices lower, although unrest in Egypt and reduced Libyan supply stemmed a further decline.

  " The ongoing meltdown in regional currencies is starting to negatively influence all risk assets and, for the moment, is helping create a bid for the Treasury market," said John Briggs, U.S. rate strategist at RBS Securities in Stamford, Connecticut.

  The Federal Open Market Committee, the U.S. central bank's policy-setting group, will release the record of its July 30-31 meeting on Wednesday. Traders anticipate the minutes will contain clues whether the Fed is on track to reduce its $85 billion monthly purchases of U.S. bonds at its September 17-18 meeting.

  Anxiety that U.S. policymakers would dial back the Fed's third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, has been accompanied by worries the Fed is looking to raise short-term interest rates, even though Fed officials have assured markets it would not happen for a long time.

  The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell to 2.8197 percent, down more than 8 basis points from late on Monday, when it climbed as high as 2.90 percent.

  Treasury yields are benchmarks for domestic mortgage rates and other long-term borrowing costs. Some economists have cautioned the surge in yields since May would slow the housing recovery, auto sales and other rate-sensitive sectors in the world's largest economy.

  German government bonds, Europe's equivalent benchmark, moved in lock step with U.S. yields, easing to 1.844 percent after topping 1.9 percent a day earlier.

  The spike in Treasury yields has exerted downward pressure on stocks since last week.

  " This has been a technical pullback (in stocks), and with the 10-year yield near 3 percent we are pretty close to reversing it," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.

  Wall Street stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday after recording their longest losing streak in 2013 as major retailers reported positive profits and outlooks.

  The Dow Jones industrial average was up 35.40 points, or 0.24 percent, at 15,046.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 7.53 points, or 0.46 percent, at 1,653.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 20.80 points, or 0.58 percent, at 3,609.88.

  Europe's top shares were down 0.9 percent, near a two-week low, while emerging stocks fell 1.3 percent to trade at a five-week low, though both indexes had recovered slightly during the morning session.

  Tokyo's Nikkei index fell 2.6 percent.

  Broad equity losses weakened the MSCI world share index by 0.3 percent to its lowest since July 11, though it subsequently recovered some of the loss and was off 0.1 percent.

  COMMODITIES BATTERED

  With the focus on the Fed cutting stimulus, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.5 percent to its lowest level in more than two months.

  The euro strengthened 0.7 percent versus the dollar at $1.3430, just a touch below its six-month high of $1.3452, while the dollar fell 0.4 percent against the Japanese yen at 97.17 yen.

  Emerging market volatility also spurred the yen.

  " The yen tends to attract buying when tensions in the market increase," said Satoshi Okagawa, senior global markets analyst for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Singapore.

  In commodities trade, copper futures in London edged up 0.1 percent to $7,315.50 a tonne, erasing earlier losses.

  Spot gold prices rose 0.6 percent at $1,374.36 per ounce, hovering near a two-month high set on Monday.

  Brent crude prices fell 29 cents or 0.26 percent at $109.61 a barrel, pressured by the Fed speculation but supported by the loss of Libya's oil exports as well as concerns that continuing unrest in Egypt could spread and interfere with supply. U.S. oil was off 77 cents, or 0.72 percent, at $106.33.

* Home Depot, Best Buy shares rise after results

  * U.S. 10-yr yield ticks lower, world shares hit six-week low

  * Dow flat, S& P up 0.1 pct, Nasdaq up 0.3 pct

  By Rodrigo Campos

  NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks inched up on Tuesday after the market's longest losing streak this year, with major retailers leading gains on positive profits and outlooks.

  In the absence of major economic news recently, equity trading has been linked to U.S. Treasuries, whose rising yields have kept stock gains in check. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note dipped to 2.83 percent on Tuesday after hitting 2.88 percent on Monday, a two-year high.

  " This has been a technical pullback (in stocks), and with the 10-year yield near 3 percent we are pretty close to reversing it," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York, pointing to what he called a buying opportunity on U.S. equities, which fell for four consecutive sessions.

  Best Buy and J.C. Penney led a string of retailers posting results, sending their shares up in early trading. Consumer-focused shares had recently been battered as many earlier reports on retailers' sales failed to impress investors.

  Cardillo said despite the better results in some of the retailers, the market continues to be weak in the short term after closing below 1,650 on Monday.

  " The technical outlook worsened and we could still test 1,635/1,645" on the S& P 500, he said.

  The S& P closed lower on Monday at 1,646.06, below its 50-day moving average for a second straight day and at its lowest since July 8.

  The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.46 point to 15,011.2, the S& P 500 gained 1.52 points or 0.09 percent, to 1,647.58 and the Nasdaq Composite added 9.861 points or 0.27 percent, to 3,598.948.

  TJX Cos, the owner of the discount T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains, reported better-than-expected quarterly sales, bucking a trend of weak results at a host of retailers. Its shares gained 4.9 percent to $53.24.

  Home Depot shares lost their premarket gains and were down 0.5 percent at $74.80 after the world's largest home improvement chain raised its yearly outlook.

  Shares of Best Buy jumped 8.8 percent to $33.43 after the world's largest consumer electronics chain reported a higher quarterly profit.

  Urban Outfitters shares gained 9 percent $43.50 one day after the apparel retailer's quarterly profit beat market estimates.

  J.C. Penney shares gained 4.5 percent to $13.82 after the troubled retailer said the back-to-school season has so far been " encouraging."

  Barnes & Noble shares tumbled 11 percent to $14.84 after the book retailer reported a steeper quarterly loss and its founder halted a plan to buy the company's stores.

  China-based Trina Solar reported a smaller quarterly loss as it shipped more solar panels to newer markets and diversified sources of revenue. Its shares rose 6.9 percent to $7.25.