(Rewrites, updates prices, adds European and US futures and

analyst comment)

* MSCI's Asia-Pacific index reverses losses, South Korean

stocks up but trim gains

* Analysts caution about renewed risk of volatility in

equities following Tuesday's selloff

* European futures down, US futures flat ahead of Micron

Technology's ( MU ) earnings

By Satoshi Sugiyama

TOKYO, June 24 (Reuters) - Asian stocks struggled for

direction on Wednesday while crude oil prices extended declines

to hover near four-month lows, as analysts cautioned about

renewed volatility from stretched AI valuations and the

prospects for U.S.-Iran peace talks.

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

was last up 0.4% after swinging gains and

losses. South Korean shares, which plunged 10% on

Tuesday in their sharpest one-day drop since March, rallied

3.5%, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.4% and Taiwan stocks

lost 1.9%

"Price action in markets over the last seven trading days

has been alarming, not just when it falls, but also when it

rises," said Michael McCarthy, market analyst at Moomoo

Securities Australia. "When markets move so rapidly, in either

direction, it's a sign of instability."

Oil prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday, extending this

week's losses and trading near four-month lows, on signs that

more oil tankers stranded in the Gulf are set to move out of the

Strait of Hormuz.

Still, uncertainty remains over the durability of the accord.

The U.S. and Iran have provided conflicting accounts on what

the two countries had agreed on as part of their peace deal,

including key elements such as nuclear inspections and control

of the Strait of Hormuz.

That gap in perceptions between Washington and Tehran "could

become a source of concern going forward," Monex Securities'

Yoshitaka Araya said.

Taking cues from Asia, European futures were mostly down.

The pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures and German DAX

futures each fell 0.3%, while FTSE futures lost

0.67%. U.S. futures were largely steady, with S&P 500 E-minis

up 0.1%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis 0.2% higher and Dow

E-minis flat. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes

fell 0.6 basis points to 4.487%.

Later on Wednesday, memory chipmaker Micron Technology ( MU )

is set to release its earnings, which could offer clues

on the outlook for the memory and AI chip sector after a searing

rally this year.

In currency markets, the U.S. dollar extended gains to reach

a fresh 13-month high against a basket of major currencies, with

the dollar index edging 0.07% higher to 101.46.

The dollar's strength has weighed heavily on the yen,

which traded at 161.53, keeping markets on edge over a potential

currency intervention to prop up the battered Japanese

currency.

A summary of opinions from the Bank of Japan's meeting this

month, in which the central bank decided to raise interest rates

to a 31-year high of 1.00%, released on Wednesday showed

policymakers debated mounting inflation risks, with some calling

for faster interest rate increases to raise borrowing costs

nearer levels deemed neutral to the economy.

The euro weakened 0.15% at $1.1364 and sterling

eased to $1.3192.

Spot gold extended losses, falling 1.1% to $4,064.01

an ounce, touching an almost two-week low as higher rate

expectations reduced the appeal of non-yielding assets.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 0.2% to

$62,499.52. Ether lost 0.2% to $1,658.09.

(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)