(Updates to US market close)

*

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings top estimates, stock up in extended

trading

*

FOMC minutes reveal policymaker divide

*

Delayed employment data may affect Fed rate decision

*

European stocks end flat

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on

Wednesday, clawing back some ground lost during the recent

selloff as investors positioned themselves ahead of Nvidia's ( NVDA )

much-anticipated quarterly results and crucial

employment data that had been unavailable during the

longest-ever U.S. government shutdown.

All three major U.S. stock indexes closed in positive

territory, with tech strength putting the Nasdaq out

front.

Chipmaker Nvidia, which has come to represent the nascent

artificial intelligence technology that has powered much of the

stock market's rally in recent months, reported

better-than-expected earnings and forecast fourth-quarter

revenue above estimates.

"The companies that are Nvidia's ( NVDA ) customers are expanding and

continuing to grow their investment in AI infrastructure, so

chip demand looks like it's set to increase," said Rob Haworth,

senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in

Seattle.

"It seems early to talk about an AI bubble because the

growth has been driven by earnings, which have driven growth

expectations fairly higher," Haworth added. "We're early in this

investment cycle; we're moving from building these models to

implementing them."

Minutes from the Fed's October meeting showed policymakers

were more divided than usual, lowering interest rates even as

some members cautioned the move could quell efforts to cool

inflation.

Gold pared gains following the release of minutes from the U.S.

Federal Reserve's October meeting, and crude prices slid on

reports of a U.S.-proposed resolution to Russia's war on

Ukraine.

The recently ended government shutdown resulted in a backlog

of official economic data, which is now beginning to flow. The

Labor Department's September employment report is slated for

release on Thursday. Should the report fall short of

expectations, it could affect the U.S. Federal Reserve's

interest rate decision at the conclusion of next month's

monetary policy meeting.

Even so, the Labor Department announced it would release a

combined October/November employment report as the shutdown

hindered critical data collection, so the Fed will have less

information on the state of the labor market when it meets in

December.

NASDAQ LEADS THE WAY

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47.03 points,

or 0.10%, to 46,138.77, the S&P 500 gained 24.87 points,

or 0.38%, to 6,642.19 and the Nasdaq Composite rose

131.38 points, or 0.59%, to 22,564.23.

European shares ended nearly unchanged, drifting near

one-month lows ahead of Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe

rose 0.73 points, or 0.07%, to 976.74.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.03%, while

Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.97 points,

or 0.04%

Emerging market stocks fell 1.54 points, or

0.11%, to 1,360.21. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares

outside Japan closed lower by 0.32%, to

697.91, while Japan's Nikkei fell 165.28 points, or

0.34%, to 48,537.70.

U.S. Treasury yields rose after the U.S. government said jobs

data for October and November would not be released before the

Fed's next policy meeting in December, dimming hopes for a third

and final rate cut this year.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose

0.8 basis points to 4.129%, from 4.121% late on Tuesday.

The 30-year bond yield added 0.8 basis points to

4.7487% from 4.741% late on Tuesday.

The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in

step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve,

rose 0.8 basis points to 3.589%, from 3.581% late on Tuesday.

The dollar rose against the yen to its highest level since

January as investors await the U.S. jobs report.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback

against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro,

rose 0.6% to 100.20, with the euro down 0.47% at $1.1525.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened

0.96% to 157 yen.

Reports of a U.S. proposal to end the Russian war in Ukraine,

along with ongoing oversupply concerns, sent crude oil prices

sliding. U.S. crude fell 2.14% to $59.44 per barrel,

while Brent settled at $63.51 per barrel, down 2.13%.

Gold prices advanced as investors sought safe-haven assets

and girded themselves for the delayed employment data, but pared

their gains after the Fed minutes were published.

Spot gold rose 0.13% to $4,073.01 an ounce. U.S. gold

futures rose 0.26% to $4,072.00 an ounce.