(Updates at 0515 GMT)

By Ankur Banerjee

SINGAPORE, April 24 (Reuters) -

Asian stocks rose sharply on Wednesday led by tech stocks as

investors' focus shifts to earnings from U.S. tech bellwethers

this week, while the yen remained mired near 34-year lows,

keeping traders wary of intervention from Japanese authorities.

An after-hours surge in shares of EV maker Tesla

following its promise of new models, and upbeat earnings from

some U.S. companies lifted sentiment, spurring a rally in tech

stocks across Asia, with Taiwan, South

Korean and Japan's Nikkei leading the charge.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

was 1.6% higher, having climbed 1% on Tuesday,

as stocks rebounded from last week's steep selloff.

China stocks were mixed, with the blue-chip index

flat, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 2%.

The risk-on rally is set to continue in Europe, with

Eurostoxx 50 futures up 0.40%, German DAX futures

up 0.33% and FTSE futures 0.60% higher.

Tesla kicked off the earnings season for U.S. tech megacaps,

announcing the launch of new electric vehicle models that sent

its shares up 12.5% in extended trading. The gains came despite

Tesla releasing first-quarter results that missed expectations.

U.S. stocks closed higher as companies such as automaker

General Motors ( GM ) reported strong earnings. E-mini futures

for the S&P 500 rose 0.38%, while Nasdaq futures

was 0.7% higher.

The earnings-packed week includes results from tech giants

Meta Platforms ( META ), Alphabet and Microsoft ( MSFT )

, and will likely set the tone for the near term.

"Expectations are also set for upcoming earnings from major

U.S. tech companies like Meta, potentially maintaining a

positive atmosphere in the tech sector ahead of these releases,"

said Anderson Alves, a trader with ActivTrades.

Beyond corporate earnings, traders are also focused on U.S.

gross domestic product figures and the March personal

consumption expenditure data - the Fed's preferred inflation

gauge - due later this week to gauge the path of U.S. rates.

Markets are now pricing in September for the timing of the

Federal Reserve's first rate cut, with expectations of 42 basis

points of cuts this year. At the start of the year, traders had

priced in 150 bps of easing for the whole year.

The drastic shift has elevated Treasury yields and lifted

the dollar in the past few weeks but on Wednesday they were

subdued following data that showed U.S. business activity cooled

in April to a four-month low due to weaker demand, while rates

of inflation eased slightly even as input prices rose sharply.

"The surprisingly soft PMI numbers suggest the US economy

will lose some momentum in the second quarter," said Tony

Sycamore, a market strategist at IG.

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was at

4.617% on Wednesday, having dipped to as low as 4.568% on

Tuesday following the economic data.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency

against six peers, eased 0.066% to 105.60 after a 0.424% drop on

Tuesday.

The Australian dollar rose 0.45% to $0.6518,

boosted by hotter-than-expected consumer price data that led the

markets to price out any expectations of rate cuts this year.

INTERVENTION ZONE

The Japanese yen was last at 154.845 per dollar,

just shy of the 34-year low of 154.88 it touched on Tuesday

ahead of the Bank of Japan's two-day policy meeting that

concludes on Friday. The yen is down nearly 9% this year.

The dollar/yen pair, which is sensitive to U.S. yields, has

traded in an extremely narrow range in the past few weeks, with

traders wary that a push above 155 could raise the risk of

dollar-selling intervention by Japanese officials.

Shusuke Yamada, chief forex and rates strategist at Bank of

America, said in a note that the market may take the dollar/yen

to 160 quickly and test the Ministry of Finance's (MoF) resolve

at that level if the MoF does not intervene at around 155.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki issued on Tuesday

the strongest warning to date on the chances of intervention,

saying last week's meeting with U.S. and South Korean

counterparts had laid the groundwork for Tokyo to act against

excessive yen moves.

Japan last intervened in the currency market in 2022,

spending an estimated $60 billion to defend the yen.

IG's Sycamore said if the U.S. core PCE inflation is hotter

than expected, "the market will quickly take advantage of the

supportive yield backdrop and push the pair towards 156.00".

Oil prices were mostly flat, with U.S. crude at

$83.43 per barrel and Brent at $88.47 as investor kept

an eye on tensions in the Middle East.