(Updates with US closing prices)

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US stocks mixed, tech in focus

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Dollar at two-week lows

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Oil falls after Trump says he will ask Saudi Arabia to cut

prices

By Amanda Cooper and Koh Gui Qing

LONDON/NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 hit a

record high on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said

he would push for lower interest rates, providing a fillip to

stock markets amid investor caution about his next moves on

trade.

In a sign of policies to come, Trump told business leaders

at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday

that he wants to lower global oil prices, interest rates and

taxes, and warned of tariffs on exports to the United States.

"I'll demand that interest rates drop immediately. And

likewise, they should be dropping all over the world," Trump

said from Washington via video conference on Thursday.

Investors are most nervous about Trump's possible plans for

tariffs. With no new details, the uncertainty weighed on bond

markets. Treasury yields rose for a second day as bond investors

braced for eventual tariffs that may stoke inflation.

"President Trump's policies are creating the perfect storm

of inflationary pressures," said Nigel Green, CEO of deVere

Group, a financial advisory firm.

Another buildup in price pressures could cause the Federal

Reserve to raise interest rates, he added. "The Fed may have no

choice but to act. This could trigger significant market

volatility."

The S&P 500 finished up 0.5% after hitting an

all-time high of 6,118.73 points, the Dow Jones Industrial

Average climbed 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite

added 0.2%. The MSCI index for global stocks

gained 0.5%.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield climbed 4.7

basis points to 4.6456%, below last week's 14-month high of

4.809%.

"Obviously, it's early days. ... We have seen no surprises

(from Trump) so far," said Guy Miller, chief markets strategist

at Zurich Insurance Group.

"If anything, some restraint was shown. So that has allowed

the financial markets to reprice to some extent, allowing bond

yields to come back in again and risk assets to move higher."

In Europe, the STOXX 600, which hit a record high

on Wednesday, edged up 0.4%, as some selling pressure abated on

technology shares which had soared after Trump announced

a $500 billion private-sector AI infrastructure investment plan.

The joint venture, which involves Oracle, OpenAI

and SoftBank, initially turbocharged a rally in global

stock markets, which drew further support from upbeat earnings.

On Asian markets overnight, Japan's Nikkei gained

0.8%. Shares of SoftBank jumped 5%.

In China, the government announced plans to channel hundreds

of billions of yuan of investment from state-owned insurers into

shares, just after Trump said he was proposing to slap a 10%

punitive duty on Chinese imports.

The CSI300 blue-chip index ended up 0.18%, while

the yuan weakened against the dollar to 7.289 in offshore

trading.

TARIFF THREATS

Currency markets were largely subdued after a volatile few

sessions since Trump's return to the White House, driven by his

pronouncements on tariffs early in the week.

Trump has said he plans to impose duties on imports from

Mexico and Canada from Feb. 1 and has said he will apply tariffs

on imports from the European Union.

Without further specifics, the dollar struggled to push

higher and Thursday's data reinforced the idea among traders

that the Fed may have more room to lower rates this year.

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

against six others, languished near a two-week low of 108.10.

The euro was steady at $1.04180, while sterling

nudged up to $1.2353.

"The threat of tariffs continues to hang over markets, but

the rapidly declining half life of headlines shows you the

market is already numb to the shenanigans," said Brent Donnelly,

president at Spectra Markets.

Ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy decision on Friday, the

dollar rose to a one-week high against the yen at

156.19 before retreating to 155.97. Markets have already fully

priced in a 25-basis-point rate hike at the conclusion of the

meeting.

Oil prices remained below $80 a barrel, under pressure after

Trump said he will be asking Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down

oil prices. Investors also worried how Trump's proposed tariffs

could affect global economic growth and demand for energy.

Brent crude futures fell 1.4% on the day to $77.89 a

barrel.