* Nikkei edges up after Wall St bounce, holidays limit

action

* Dollar steadies vs yen after intervention slide

* Brent crude firms as Iran threatens, but off 4-year

peaks

(Updates prices to Asia afternoon)

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) - Asian shares rallied in relief

on Friday as oil prices came off the boil and upbeat company

earnings pulled investors into tech stocks, while Japan's first

yen-buying intervention in two years steadied the battered

currency.

Apple ( AAPL ) amplified the cheer by beating forecasts and

providing an upbeat outlook for sales, though it did warn of

chip supply constraints. Its shares rose 2.7% in extended

trading, adding to gains of 10% in both Caterpillar ( CAT ) and

Alphabet as they beat expectations.

Hopes for ever-rising profits saw the S&P 500 climb more

than 10% for all of April, while Nasdaq surged 15% in its best

performance since 2020. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2% on

Friday, with Nasdaq futures firming 0.1%.

April was also a barnstormer for Asia, with Japan's Nikkei

up 16% for the month, Taiwan gaining 23% and

South Korea almost 31%.

Market holidays limited the reaction across Asia on Friday,

with the Nikkei up 0.6% and Australian shares

adding 0.9%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares

outside Japan edged 0.3% higher.

Asia does remain acutely vulnerable to higher energy prices,

importing most of its oil and gas, and oil flows remain badly

disrupted through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said on Thursday it would respond with "long and

painful strikes" on U.S. positions if Washington renewed attacks

and restated its claim to the strait.

That saw Brent crude firm 0.6% to $111.70 a barrel,

though that was well off Thursday's four-year peak of $126.41.

U.S. crude rose 0.1% to $105.10 a barrel.

JAPAN DRAWS A LINE FOR YEN

Currency markets had also come alive after sources said

Japanese authorities had intervened on Thursday to sell dollars

for yen, initially sending the greenback sliding five whole yen

to a two-month low of 155.50.

Yet buyers were back on Friday, lifting the dollar to 157.29

in a sign Tokyo may still have to do more if it really wants to

draw a line at the 160.00 yen barrier.

"The cost is likely to be in the tens of billions of dollars

based on history," said Tim Baker, a macro strategist at

Deutsche Bank, referring to the size of the intervention.

"We're not convinced USD/JPY will keep falling, or even stay

here for long," he argued. "The cross may well be high relative

to rates, but it's actually low relative to a simple model that

includes rates, equities and oil."

Japan imports all its oil and the rise in crude prices is

set to sharply widen the country's trade deficit.

The burst of dollar sales indirectly lifted the euro to

$1.1726 and away from a three-week trough of $1.1655.

The pound firmed as far as a 10-week high at $1.3591.

Both currencies were supported by hawkish commentary from

their respective central banks.

The Bank of England warned that the fallout from the Iran

war could lead to "forceful" rate rises if energy prices kept

climbing, and one board member voted for an immediate hike.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said they

were debating whether to lift rates and noted that data over the

next six weeks would decide the issue.

"The messages conveyed during the press conference leave us

with a distinct perception that the consensus among governors is

that they will hike policy rates at the next meeting on June

11," said analysts at Citi in a note.

"We find no reason to alter our expectation of back-to-back

rate hikes in June and July."

That follows a hawkish shift from the Federal Reserve on

Wednesday that saw markets give up on any hope for a rate cut

there this year.

The pivot left U.S. 10-year Treasury yields up 8 basis

points on the week at 4.390%, but off a top of

4.436%.

Elsewhere in commodity markets, gold was flat at $4,612 an

ounce, having been stuck in a tight trading range for

more than a month now.