By Andrew Quinn and Peter Graff

  ABU DHABI/TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's cash-starved rebels on Thursday won more than $1.1 billion (672 million pounds) of aid at a conference of Western and Arab powers that focussed on the end-game for Muammar Gaddafi and the country's civil war.

  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said talks were under way with people close to Gaddafi that had raised the " potential" for a transition of power, but added: " There is not any clear way forward yet."

  Also referring to what he called multiple feelers from the Gaddafi government, Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said Gaddafi's end " may come sooner" than expected.

  NATO warplanes relentlessly bombed Tripoli as the rebels said at the talks in Abu Dhabi that they hoped to restart oil production soon.

  At the United Nations, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said its investigators had found evidence linking Gaddafi to a policy of raping opponents.

  A possible war crimes prosecution could be an incentive for Gaddafi to cling to power, but Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, offered to help ease his former African Union ally's exit from power and appealed to him to step down.

  " It is in your own interest and the interest of all the Libyan people that you leave power in Libya and never dream of coming back to power," Wade said during a visit to the rebels' eastern stronghold of Benghazi.

  " I can be one of those who help you pull out of political life and the sooner you leave the better," Wade, the first foreign head of state to visit the rebel city, said.

  " PEOPLE CLOSE TO GADDAFI"

  Clinton declined to give details of discussions over Gaddafi's future.

  " There have been numerous and continuing discussions by people close to Gaddafi and we are aware that those discussions include among other matters the potential for a transition," she said at the end of the Libya contact group meeting.

  A bipartisan group in the U.S. Congress urged President Barack Obama to use frozen Libyan government assets to pay for humanitarian aid for Libyan people caught up in the civil war.

  NATO air strikes took place through Thursday after a lull following the heaviest day of bombings since March.

  Rebel Oil and Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni said they hoped to restart production of 100,000 barrels a day " soon," without specifying a timeframe, and called for more aid, immediately.

  " " Our people are dying ... So my message to our friends is that I hope they walk the walk," he told reporters.

  Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told Reuters Rome would give the rebels up to 400 million euros ($586.1 million) of cash and fuel aid backed by frozen Libyan assets.

  Kuwait said it would immediately transfer $180 million to the rebels, while the UAE said it would make an announcement on financing and the diplomatic status of the rebels soon.

  French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said about 290 million euros in assets would be unfrozen by French banks. Turkey, which will host the next meeting in Istanbul during July, said it had set up a $100 million fund.

  " END-GAME"

  The 22-nation contact group, which includes Western and Arab countries as well as organisations such as the United Nations, is pressing the rebels to give a detailed plan on how they would run the country if Gaddafi stood down or was toppled.

  " The international community is beginning to talk about what could constitute end-game to this," one senior U.S. official told reporters ahead of the meeting.

  That official listed scenarios including a cease-fire, which Tripoli has demanded include leaving Gaddafi's fate open.

  " We are for the people of Libya and only for the people of Libya," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. " But at the same time we need to find a political solution ... we need to have a roadmap to keep Libya as a united country and to complete this transitional period as a successful process."

  The rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) and its Western allies have rejected Libyan government cease-fire offers that do not include Gaddafi stepping down first.

  U.S. officials on Wednesday announced delivery of the TNC's first U.S. oil sale, which they hope will get money flowing.

  One of the highest-ranking defectors, Libyan U.N. ambassador Abdurrahman Shalgam, said the rebels needed $3 billion to cover salaries and food costs for the next four months. Libyan assets in Italy could contribute to that sum, he said.

  On the military front, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that European countries flying the bulk of the air strikes are stretched thin and will find the NATO-led mission more painful unless other allies do more.

  HELICOPTERS TO ACCELERATE ATTRITION

  Rear Admiral Philippe Coindreau, who heads French operations over Libya, said that the strikes against Gadaffi's forces were increasingly wearing them down.

  " Everyday I'm seeing the attrition of Gaddafi's assets and forces," Coindreau said in a videoconference from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. " The recently arrived helicopters bring added-value and accelerate this."

  The alliance says the bombing aims to protect civilians from the Libyan military, which crushed popular protests in February.

  The Libyan leader says the rebels are Islamist militants and NATO attempting to grab Libya's oil.

  At the United Nations, the ICC prosecutor said its investigators have evidence linking Gaddafi to a policy of raping opponents and may bring separate charges on the issue.

  At the United Nations human rights body, Libya's envoy rejected a separate U.N. report accusing its forces of crimes.

  Rebels in the besieged western city of Misrata said thousands of pro-Gaddafi forces launched a major advance on the city killing at least 12 people on Wednesday.

  " The situation is a stalemate --- both sides are adopting hit-and-run tactics," rebel spokesman Abdelsalam said from Misrata late on Thursday after more bombardments on the city. " NATO has to change something. Their goal is unclear."

  NATO disputed the account.

  " There were some small groups of pro-Gaddafi forces who were trying to advance towards the centre of Misrata ... but I think this is an embellishment," a NATO official said.

  Gaddafi troops and the rebels have been deadlocked for weeks between the eastern towns of Ajdabiyah and the Gaddafi-held oil town of Brega. Rebels also control the western city of Misrata and the range of western mountains near the border with Tunisia.

  (Additional reporting by Khaled al-Ramahi in Misrata, Sherine El Madany in Benghazi, Adrian Croft in London, Humeyra Pamuk, Martina Fuchs and Mahmoud Habboush in Abu Dhabi, Joseph Nasr in Rabat and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris Writing by John Irish and Joseph Logan Editing by Tim Cocks and Andrew Heavens)

  * ECB holds rates at 1.25 pct July hike widely expected

  * ECB inflation forecasts for 2012 unchanged

  * Markets slightly pare back ECB rate increases

  * Greece worries hurt euro BoE decision nips sterling (Updates prices)

  By Steven C. Johnson

  NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - The euro fell on Thursday after the European Central Bank kept its 2012 inflation forecast unchanged, suggesting the pace of euro zone interest rate hikes may be slower than previously thought.

  ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet did signal that the benchmark refinancing rate, now at 1.25 percent, would rise next month. But markets expected as much and had already priced in the prospect of a July hike.

  Investors sold the euro after the ECB said inflation would hold at 1.7 percent in 2012, lower than analysts had expected. Investors now expect 75 basis points of tightening over the next year, from around 80 basis points before Trichet spoke.

  Greece worries also weighed on the euro after Moody's said it would be tough to imagine private creditors participating voluntarily in a debt restructuring. For details, see [ID:nFAB016108]

  Trichet said any private sector involvement would have to be voluntary. Earlier this week, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble called for a " quantified and substantial" contribution from bondholders to any new bailout for Greece.

  " It feels like selling euro upticks against the dollar will remain the bias, not least because the expected rate hike signal is out of the way and it is clear that many major decisions on how to navigate the Greek crisis have not been taken in either Athens or other European capitals," said Alan Ruskin, global head of G10 currency strategy at Deutsche Bank.

  The euro fell 0.5 percent to $1.4511 < EUR=> , and Ruskin said $1.4450 was a reasonable short-term target.

  Against the yen, the euro was unchanged at 116.53 < EURJPY> , while the dollar rose 0.4 percent to 80.28 yen < JPY=> .

  Sterling fell 0.2 percent to $1.6366 < GBP=D4> after the Bank of England kept rates at record lows. [ID:nLAC005850]

  'STRONG VIGILANCE'

  The euro initially rose above $1.46 after Trichet said " strong vigilance" was warranted to curb inflation in the 17-country euro zone but then abruptly fell, triggering automatic sell orders at $1.4600, $1.4550, and $1.4500.

  Investors have come to view the words " strong vigilance" as Trichet's way of signaling a rate increase the following month. For Trichet's remarks, click on [ID:nFAT007213].

  The last eight times Trichet used those words, the euro appreciated in the 72 hours that followed, analysts said.

  " Trichet uttered the fateful code words 'strong vigilance,' preparing the market for further tightening," said GFT Forex research director Boris Schlossberg. " However, Trichet also suggested that the central bank expects inflationary pressures to moderate in 2012, leading many market participants to conclude that the action in July may be a one-off event rather than the start of a series of rate hikes."

  The focus could now come back to the Greek debt crisis. News on the debt-ridden country was mixed the last two days and short-term Greek borrowing costs remained elevated.

  Sources told Reuters a new international bailout for Greece may total 120 billion euros. Schaeuble said Wednesday Greece needed 90 billion euros to get through 2014. [ID:nLDE75819V]

  Jens Nordvig, head of G10 FX strategy at Nomura Securities, said the question in the longer run is whether Greece's debt woes infect sentiment toward other euro zone countries.

  " The key unknown is contagion, and in this context the resilience of bigger countries -- Spain and Italy -- remains key," he said. (Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss editing by Dan Grebler)

  * U.S. new weekly jobless claims rise, trade gap narrows

  * Semiconductor index holds key level

  * Equity options pull/call ratio closed at 18-month high

  * Dow up 0.6 pct, S& P up 0.7 pct, Nasdaq up 0.4 pct (Updates with volume, advancers and decliners)

  By Angela Moon

  NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended higher for the first time in over a week on Thursday, with the Dow and the S& P 500 rising 1 percent at one point, but many analysts saw the rebound as short-lived.

  A report showing record U.S. exports in April eased some concerns about a stalled economic recovery, which had been weighing on the market.

  A spike in oil prices helped lift materials and energy stocks. Investors also snapped up beaten-down stocks in the financial sector.

  The S& P materials sector index rose 1.6 percent and the energy index gained 1.2 percent. The Morgan Stanley cyclical index, which is down more than 5.2 percent in June, rose 1 percent. The KBW bank index was up 1.2 percent.

  Several economists said the spike in U.S. exports in April could prompt revisions higher of gross domestic product growth in the second quarter, interrupting a trend of lowered expectations.

  But the mood remained fragile. Many analysts still expected the S& P to retest its March low of 1,250 after a string of data, including the latest payrolls report, provided little room for optimism.

  Concerns about the future of equities after the Fed's $600 billion second round of stimulus expire at the end of this month also weighed on the market.

  After falling for six straight days, " the market was looking for an excuse to bounce back and it got it" from the trade data, said Steve Blitz, senior economist at ITG in New York.

  " You can't take just one day and draw a conclusion that the bear market is over."

  Reflecting the bearish sentiment, the daily volume put/call ratio for equity options on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) was at an 18-month high as of Wednesday's close, according to data posted on the exchange website, indicating investors are significantly bearish on the stock market.

  The Dow Jones industrial average was up 75.42 points, or 0.63 percent, at 12,124.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 9.44 points, or 0.74 percent, at 1,289.00. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 9.49 points, or 0.35 percent, at 2,684.87.

  The S& P had lost more than 6 percent in the last six days leading up to Thursday, while the Nasdaq had nearly erased its gains for the year.

  BUYING OPPORTUNITY?

  CBOE data showed that put/call ratio on equity options rose to 0.99 on Wednesday, which means 99 puts traded for every 100 calls, the highest ratio since Jan. 15, 2009. The average had been between 0.55-0.70 this year.

  The high put/call ratio signals investors are actively hedging their bets and setting up for further market declines. But as in other cases, extreme bearishness could also be a contrarian indicator.

  " A lot of fear came into the market as investors bought puts," said Jay Shartsis, director of options trading at R.F. Lafferty & Co in New York.

  " (But) the high ratio identifies a good buy level for stocks. When a ratio turns this high, from a contrarian view, the risk-reward factor is now significantly skewed to the buy side," Shartsis said.

  The PHLX semiconductor index bounced off its 200-day moving average and was holding near 410, a key level that offered strong support in March.

  Texas Instruments Inc shares rose 0.7 percent to $32.91 even after the company cut its earnings and revenue forecasts late on Wednesday.

  Reflecting the appetite for tech stocks, shares of Fusion-io surged 18.4 percent to $22.50 in their first day of trading -- up from an initial public offering price of $19. Earlier, the stock was up as much as 34.2 percent at a session high of $25.50.

  But shares of China-based Taomee Holdings Ltd fell 8.6 percent to $8.23 in their stock market debut as U.S.-listed Chinese companies come under more scrutiny following a series of accounting scandals.

  As U.S. regulators, brokers and investors are sharpening their look at Chinese companies, about half the top percentage losers on the NYSE and the Nasdaq with share prices over $2 were Chinese companies.

  Volume was thin on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq with just 6.31 billion shares traded, compared with the daily average of 7.59 billion.

  Advancers beat decliners on the NYSE by 1,904 to 1,076. On the Nasdaq, advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by 1,599 to 1,002.

  Details of Thursday's economic data showed the U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in April as U.S. exports rose to a record and imports from Japan tumbled more than 25 percent.

  A separate report showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 1,000 last week, while continued claims fell more than expected. (Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos in New York and Doris Frankel in Chicago Editing by Jan Paschal)

By Peter Graff

  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - NATO warplanes pummelled a town west of Libya's capital, state media said soon after Western and Arab powers promised more than $1 billion to help rebels fighting to end Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule.

  A Reuters journalist also reported a loud explosion in Tripoli on Friday just after midnight, a common time for NATO strikes on the capital.

  The 22-nation Libya contact group that includes The United States, France and Britain as well as Arab states such as Qatar and the UAE, met in Abu Dhabi to press the rebels to give a detailed plan on how they would run the country if Gaddafi stood down or was toppled.

  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said talks were under way with people close to Gaddafi that had raised the " potential" for a transition of power without giving details.

  Also referring to what he called multiple feelers from the Tripoli government, Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said Gaddafi's end " may come sooner" than expected.

  But there was frustration among the rebel leadership despite securing new aid commitments from France, Italy and Turkey.

  " Our people are dying ... So my message to our friends is that I hope they walk the walk," rebel oil and finance minister Ali Tarhouni said, adding he hoped oil production of 100,000 barrels a day would restart soon.

  Libyan state television reported on Thursday that the NATO-led military alliance had hit civilian and military targets in the town of Zuwarah, 120 km west of the capital Tripoli after earlier resuming strikes in the capital following the heaviest day of bombings since March.

  Rebels said pro-Gaddafi forces shelled their positions in the Western Mountains region on Thursday night, adding NATO had not been doing enough to confront the renewed attacks.

  " They (Gaddafi forces) are shelling Zintan (160 kilometres southwest of Tripoli) with Grad missiles," said rebel spokesman Abdulrahman late on Thursday. " There have been no NATO air strikes for a week."

  Another rebel spokesman Juma Ibrahim in Zintan said the towns of Yafran and Nalut had also been shelled and that Gaddafi's forces were massing near the Tunisian border to try to retake the Wazin crossing from the rebels.

  " STALEMATE"

  Rebels in Misrata said shelling had also resumed after a " major advance" from Gaddafi loyalists on Wednesday. A NATO official earlier played down the reports of government advances.

  " The situation is a stalemate -- both sides are adopting hit-and-run tactics," rebel spokesman Abdelsalam said from Misrata. " NATO has to change something. Their goal is unclear."

  Another rebel spokesman said 22 people had been killed in fighting with pro-Gaddafi forces over the last week and asked why attack helicopters had not been deployed to support them.

  Rear Admiral Philippe Coindreau, who heads French operations over Libya, said that the strikes against Gaddafi's forces were increasingly wearing them down and that the helicopters would " accelerate" the attrition of his forces.

  The alliance says the bombing aims to protect civilians from the Libyan military, which crushed popular protests in February.

  The Libyan leader says the rebels are Islamist militants and NATO is attempting to grab Libya's oil.

  At the United Nations, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said its investigators had found evidence linking Gaddafi to a policy of raping opponents.

  A possible war crimes prosecution could be an incentive for Gaddafi to cling to power, but Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, offered to help ease his former African Union ally's exit from power and appealed to him to step down.

  " It is in your own interest and the interest of all the Libyan people that you leave power in Libya and never dream of coming back to power," said Wade. He was the first foreign leader to visit the rebels' eastern stronghold of Benghazi.

  Gaddafi troops and the rebels have been deadlocked for weeks between the eastern towns of Ajdabiyah and the Gaddafi-held oil town of Brega. Rebels also control the western city of Misrata and the range of Western Mountains near the border with Tunisia.

  (Additional reporting by Khaled al-Ramahi in Misrata and Joseph Nasr in Rabat Writing by John Irish Editing by Andrew Heavens)

SYDNEY, June 10 (Reuters) - Asian stocks are set to open higher on Friday after Wall Street posted gains for the first time in a week, boosted by a report showing record U.S. exports in April and easing concerns about a stalled global economic recovery.

  Several economists said the spike in U.S. exports in April could prompt some upgrades in expectations for second-quarter economic growth, interrupting a trend of lowered expectations.

  The main Wall Street indices climbed between 0.35 and 0.74 percent, ending six day losing streak.

  British shares rose 0.85 percent, pushed higher by a rebound in mining stocks.

  Copper eked out a modest gain by the close on Thursday, as expectations for a rebound in Chinese imports counterbalanced the negative macroeconomic impact from disappointing weekly U.S. jobless claims figures.

  Both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank left interest rates on hold on Thursday. The BoE's decision was widely anticipated, but the ECB's move was less expected.

  Asian stocks listed on Wall Street climbed 0.7 percent.

  World stocks, as measured by the MSCI world equity index , were up 0.4 percent. The Thomson Reuters global stock index was higher by 0.8 percent, and emerging market stocks fell 0.3 percent.

  The dollar rose 0.4 percent to 80.28 yen and the euro fell after the European Central Bank kept its 2012 inflation forecast unchanged, suggesting the pace of euro zone interest rate hikes may be slower than previously thought

  Japanese markets, which inched higher on Thursday as foreigners continued bargain hunting, look set to test move higher. Nikkei futures traded in Chicago < 2NKc1> were 60 points above the last closing level in Osaka < JNIc1> . The support for the benchmark Nikkei average is seen at the psychological level of 9,400 and below that key technical support is at 9,317.

  Australian stocks are set to open higher gaining from reviving investor appetite for commodity stocks. Share price index futures < YAPcm1> gained 21 points to 4,575.0, a 25.4-point premium to the underlying S& P/ASX 200 index .

 

  HEADLINES:
> Clinton in talks about possible move to World Bank
> Citigroup data breach prompts security review
> Auditors face suits over US-listed Chinese blowups
> Stocks snap six-day decline commodities rally
> Glencore chairman caught up in Sino-Forest saga
> Record U.S. exports temper slowdown fears
> Rankled banks to fight against U.S. reforms
> Fed's Lockhart: QE3 unlikely despite weaker growth
> Newt Gingrich's campaign team resigns en masse
> ECB takes hard line on Greece in rebuff to Berlin
> Global corn supply tightens as U.S. grows less
> Picard aims for triple-word score in Madoff case
> Japan revolving leadership door may keep turning
> Is U.S. business abandoning middle class?-Freeland
> SPECIAL REPORT-Where's the next nuclear weak link?


 
--

  KEY INDEXES pct change

  Bank of New York Asia ADR index +0.71

  Dow Jones Industrial Average +0.63

  Nasdaq Composite Index +0.35

  Nikkei futures in Chicago < 2NKc1> 9,540

  Nikkei futures in Osaka < JNIc1> 9,480

  --

  TOP ASIA EVENTS:

  For more Asian company earnings, see ASIA/EQTY

  JAPAN - Corporate goods price for May

  - Cabinet meeting followed by news conferences by Finance

  Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano

  - Toyota Motor Corp briefing on earnings forecast for

  2011/12 year.

 

  AUSTRALIA - Employment, May

 

  HONG KONG - Legislative Council special meeting of Panel on Economic

  Development to discuss the Hong Kong International Airport