(Updates to 16:02 EDT/2002 GMT)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks gained ground

on Monday and the yen surged amid suspected intervention as

investors embarked on what promises to be an action-packed week.

All three major U.S. stock indexes ended green, extending

Friday's rally at the onset of a week filled with high profile

earnings, crucial economic data and the U.S. Federal Reserve's

monetary policy meeting.

Meanwhile, the yen jumped after touching 34-year low, with

traders citing heavy yen-buying intervention by Japanese banks.

"It's a playbook that they've used before - nobody is

commenting despite all the confirmations that it occurred," said

Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird in

Louisville, Kentucky. "It's a holiday (in Japan) as well, so

it's a light volume day which points to some obvious conclusions

even if its not official."

This week's data releases include European inflation and

U.S. labor market indicators, while the Fed is due to convene on

Tuesday for its two-day meeting at which it is expected to keep

its key interest rate unchanged, but strike a hawkish tone.

"Inflation is not exactly where they want it to be, but it

has come down to the point where if the labor market shudders

even a little bit the Fed will pivot back to dovish talk pretty

quickly," Mayfield added. "The labor market is the car we'll

drive for the rest of the year."

Earnings season shifts into overdrive this week with high

profile results expected from Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Apple Inc ( AAPL )

and others.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 147.4 points,

or 0.39%, to 38,387.06, the S&P 500 gained 16.19 points,

or 0.32%, to 5,116.15 and the Nasdaq Composite added

55.18 points, or 0.35%, to 15,983.08.

European shares eked out a nominal gain, backing down from a

two-week high after Germany reported higher-than-expected

inflation. Investors now eye the Fed's rate decision on

Wednesday.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.07% and

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained

0.46%.

Emerging market stocks rose 1.00%. MSCI's broadest index of

Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.98%

higher, while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.81%.

Japan's yen jumped as much as 5 yen against the dollar

igniting suspicions that Tokyo intervened in the currency market

for the first time in 18 months.

Japan's top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, declined to

comment when asked if authorities had intervened, though traders

said they had.

The dollar was last lower against a basket of world

currencies.

The dollar index fell 0.3%, with the euro up

0.25% to $1.0719.

The yen strengthened 1.49% versus the greenback at 156.04

per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.2562,

up 0.58% on the day.

U.S. Treasury yields pulled back from last week's highs

ahead of a Fed meeting and crucial economic data expected later

in the week.

Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 13/32 in price

to yield 4.6156%, from 4.669% late on Friday.

The 30-year bond last rose 22/32 in price to

yield 4.7357%, from 4.782% late on Friday.

Crude prices slid as Israel-Hamas peace talks lowered the

geopolitical temperature and tempered fears of a widening

regional conflict.

U.S. crude dropped 1.45% to settle at $82.63 per

barrel, while Brent settled at $88.40, down 1.23% on

the day.

Gold prices edged lower as investors await crucial data and

potential clues regarding the Fed's rate cut path.

Spot gold dropped 0.1% to $2,335.71 an ounce.