*

Wall St muted after Europe, Asia gains

*

Trump's Treasury pick in the spotlight

*

Asian stocks boosted by tech, Europe by luxury, chipmakers

*

Yen rises on growing rate hike wagers

(Updates prices to late afternoon including oil settlement)

By Sinéad Carew and Alun John

NEW YORK/LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - MSCI's global

equities gauge rose on Thursday, while Wall Street stocks dipped

and U.S. Treasury yields fell after a mixed bag of economic data

and Federal Reserve officials' comments suggested more interest

rate cuts on the horizon.

U.S. shares had surged on Wednesday after data showed easing

in U.S. core inflation. While Thursday's data included a U.S.

retail sales increase in December, it was below expectations.

The number of Americans filing new applications for

unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week but

remained at levels consistent with a healthy labor market.

U.S. Treasury yields slipped in a choppy market, with

investors reacting to Federal Governor Christopher Waller saying

three or four interest cuts this year are still possible if U.S.

economic data weakens further.

On Wall Street, major indexes fell a day after they

registered their biggest daily percentage gains since the Nov. 6

rally following the U.S. presidential election.

"It was a roller coaster from Friday's job print up through

yesterday's CPI," said Adam Hetts, global head of multi-asset

and portfolio manager at Janus Henderson ( JHG ).

"It feels like the market is taking a breather, digesting

some smaller economic news, digesting some of the testimonies in

D.C. and really looking forward to next week as a major

catalyst."

With President-elect Donald Trump due to be inaugurated on

Monday, investors were closely monitoring U.S. Senate Finance

Committee testimony from Scott Bessent, Trump's nominee to lead

the Treasury Department.

Bessent said extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts was a top

priority, that the Fed should stay independent and he was ready

to impose tougher sanctions on Russia's oil sector. This

followed his prepared remarks that the U.S. must prioritize

investing to grow the economy over "wasteful spending that

drives inflation."

While investors have been hoping for fewer regulations under

Trump, they have been dealing with the uncertainty of whether

his tariff policies would push inflation higher.

"Bessent, fortunately, is one of the less controversial

appointments and so far most his comments have followed with

expectations. It does reinforce the view that this is a

pro-market, pro-business administration with Bessent a very

important appointment," said Hetts.

On Wall Street, at 2:42 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial

Average was down 36.83 points, or 0.08%, at 43,184.86.

The S&P 500 slid 2.23 points, or 0.04%, to 5,947.68 and

the Nasdaq Composite fell 84.99 points, or 0.44%, to

19,426.25.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose

2.38 points, or 0.28%, to 849.68. Earlier, Europe's STOXX 600

index closed up 0.98%, with luxury stocks

boosted after Cartier jewelry owner Richemont's results

exceeded analysts' expectations.

Chip stocks around the world got a lift from Asian chipmaker

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co ( TSM ) reporting a

record quarterly profit, in line with expectations. The

Philadelphia semiconductor index rose 1.1%.

In currencies, the U.S. dollar fell on Thursday as traders

digest a slew of mixed economic data to gauge the outlook for

Fed rate cuts this year.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback

against a basket of major currencies, fell 0.09% to 108.93, with

the euro up 0.14% at $1.0303.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar weakened 0.82%

to 155.18 after comments from Governor Kazuo Ueda prompted

traders to price in a more than 70% chance the Bank of Japan

will raise interest rates next week.

In bonds, the yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes

fell 6.1 basis points to 4.592%, from 4.653% late on

Wednesday. The 30-year bond yield fell 4.6 basis

points to 4.8317% from 4.878%.

The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in

step with expectations for the Fed's interest rate path, fell

3.4 basis points to 4.23%, from 4.264% late on Wednesday.

In commodities, oil prices slipped with Yemen's Houthi

militia expected to halt attacks on ships in the Red Sea, while

investors digested the complex ceasefire accord between Israel

and militant group Hamas.

U.S. crude settled down 1.7% at $78.68 a barrel and

Brent settled at $81.29 per barrel, down 0.9%.

U.S. natural gas futures closed at a two-year high on colder

weather forecasts for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday

weekend, which may cut output by freezing gas wells and pipes

even as demand for heating fuel rises to a record high.

Gold prices rose to a more-than-one-month high after the

latest U.S. economic data pushed Treasury yields down. Spot gold

rose 0.71% to $2,714.94 an ounce. U.S. gold futures

rose 1.38% to $2,749.80 an ounce.