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GLOBAL MARKETS-Equities rally, dollar weakens on signals from Fed minutes

* Fed minutes suggest rates may not rise anytime soon

* Bond prices fall after minutes suggest rate hike unlikely

* Alcoa (NYSE: AA - news) 's results help boost sentiment, shares rise 3.8

percent

* Brent oil rises toward $108 a barrel on Ukraine worries

(Adds close of U.S. markets)

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK (Frankfurt: HX6.F - news) , April 9 (Reuters) - Global equity markets advanced

and the dollar retreated on Wednesday after minutes from the

Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting suggested the U.S.

central bank may not raise interest rates anytime soon.

Stocks on Wall Street jumped more than than 1 percent and

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prices of U.S. government debt fell following release of the

minutes from the Fed's March 18-19 meeting.

Fed policymakers were unanimous in wanting to ditch the

thresholds they had been using to telegraph a policy tightening,

according to the minutes, which shed little new light on what

might prompt a rise in interest rates.

They fretted that investors would overreact to published

forecasts that suggested a more aggressive cycle of interest

rate increases was coming than they planned.

"People are taking solace in the idea that the Fed may be

more accommodative than previously thought, for longer than

previously thought," said Steve Sosnick, equity-risk manager at

Timber Hill/Interactive Brokers Group in Greenwich, Connecticut.

"That's giving the lift to stocks and explains why the dollar

fell against the euro."

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 181.04

points, or 1.11 percent, at 16,437.18. The S&P 500 gained

20.22 points, or 1.09 percent, to 1,872.18 and the Nasdaq

Composite added 70.914 points, or 1.72 percent, to

4,183.9.

The euro rose as high as $1.3862, its strongest level

since March 19, and was last at $1.3854, up 0.43 percent.

Against the Swiss franc, the dollar fell to 0.8789 franc

, its lowest level in more than two weeks.

The dollar traded higher against the yen, having fallen

following the Fed minutes after trading higher for most of the

session. It last traded up 0.18 percent at 101.97 yen.

U.S. stocks rose early in the session after aluminum

producer Alcoa late Tuesday reported quarterly results

that topped analysts' expectations, even though the company's

adjusted profit fell due to declining aluminum prices.

Shares of Alcoa gained 3.8 percent to $13.00 and at

one point were the best performer among components of the

benchmark S&P 500 index.

Alcoa had long been the first company in the Dow Industrials

to report results each quarter. Since aluminum is used in key

industries, including the automotive, aerospace and construction

sectors, some see it as a bellwether for the earnings season.

The company is no longer a Dow component.

Earnings for companies in the S&P 500 are projected to have

increased just 1 percent from last year's first quarter, Thomson

Reuters data showed. The forecast is down sharply from the start

of the year, when profit growth was estimated at 6.5 percent.

"Earnings will really help give this market some forward

direction, but they are in front of us and haven't really hit

yet," said Rick Meckler, president of hedge fund LibertyView

Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The Nasdaq biotechnology index was up 4.1 percent and

the Global X social media index was up 3.3 percent.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading

regional shares closed up 0.36 percent at 1,338.12, while MSCI (NYSE: MSCI - news) 's

all-country equity index rose 0.66 percent.

Gains in Europe were led by automakers, although some

traders said caution ahead of the European earnings season could

curb near-term progress.

U.S. Treasuries prices fell as traders trimmed their bond

holdings in advance of a $21 billion auction of 10-year notes.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note was down

5/32 in price to yield 2.6989 percent.

Brent crude rose toward $108 a barrel as rising tension

between Russia and Ukraine overshadowed the bearish impact of a

substantial rise in crude oil stockpiles in the United States.

While the Ukraine crisis may not directly impact global oil

supplies and trade, the risk premium on oil is rising as

investors worry the Kremlin (Berlin: KMLK.BE - news) 's stand-off with the West could

quickly take a turn for the worse.

Brent crude rose 31 cents to settle at $107.98 a

barrel. U.S. oil settled up $1.04 to $103.60.

(Reporting by Herbert Lash; Additional reporting by Marc Jones

in London; Editing by Dan Grebler and Leslie Adler)