US STOCKS-Banks, Apple drive Wall St higher, AmEx up late

                                
 * Regional banks lift financial sector
                                
 * Apple shares rise after earnings
                                
 * Housing, jobs data worse than expected
                                
 * Dow up 0.9 pct, S&P up 1 pct, Nasdaq up 0.4 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news click [STXNEWS/US]
 (Updates close with American Express, Microsoft and Amazon's
results and stock gains after the bell, updates volume )
                                
 By Chuck Mikolajczak
                                
 NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose in
volatile trade on Thursday as better-than-expected results
from several regional banks lifted financial shares,
overshadowing disappointing economic data and anemic outlooks
from economic bellwethers like United Parcel Service.
                                
 Earnings from big U.S. regional banks, including PNC
Financial Services Group Inc <PNC.N> and Fifth Third Bancorp
<FITB.O>, provided glimmers of hope for a sector damaged by
climbing loan losses as the recession lingers. For more, see
[ID:nN23309618]
                                
 But investors wrestled with the possibility that the
federal government's "stress tests" on 19 major U.S. banks may
reveal weaknesses, which created volatility throughout the
session. The government is set to unveil results on May 4.
                                
 "It's still about the banks. We're all still wondering
about the stress tests," said Frank Lesh, a futures analyst
and broker at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago.
                                
 Solid results from companies such as Apple Inc <AAPL.O>
also appeased investors. Apple shares rose 3.2 percent to
$125.40 on strong sales of iPhones and iPods, making it the
Nasdaq's top advancer. [ID:nN23312349]
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 70.49
points, or 0.89 percent, to 7,957.06. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 8.37 points, or 0.99 percent, to 851.92.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 6.09 points, or 0.37
percent, to 1,652.21.
                                
 In contrast, United Parcel Service Inc <UPS.N> slid 2.6
percent to $53.33 after it said profits were hurt by the
economic downturn and forecast second-quarter results below
expectations. [ID:nN22253727]
                                
 U.S. government data showed existing homes sales fell in
March to a much lower-than-expected annual rate, while weekly
initial jobless claims rose slightly more than
expected.[ID:nN22540525] [ID:nN23310355]
                                
 Barring a surprising advance on Friday, Wall Street stocks
were on track to snap a six-week streak of gains.
                                
 Energy shares also gained as the price of crude rose 1.6
 percent, lifting Chevron Corp <CVX.N> shares 2.8 percent to
$65.53. Chevron contributed the most to the blue-chip Dow's
advance.
                                
 AMERICAN EXPRESS FLIES LATE
                                
 Financial shares may get a lift on Friday after American
Express <AXP.N> reported its first-quarter earnings after the
closing bell, sending its stock up 6.3 percent to $22.30 in
extended-hours trading. [ID:nN23358086]
                                
 Shares of Microsoft <MSFT.O> climbed 4.3 percent to $19.73
after the bell. Microsoft, the world's largest software
company, posted a quarterly profit that met Wall Street's
expectations after the regular trading session ended.
[ID:nN23362766]
                                
 Online retailer Amazon.com <AMZN.O> added 1.2 percent to
$81.60 in extended trading after reporting a rise in revenue
of 18 percent and earnings that topped analysts' estimates.
[ID:nN23362781]
                                
 PNC FINANCIAL AND eBAY JUMP
                                
 The broader S&P 500 is up nearly 26 percent from its
bear-market closing low on March 9. While some profit-taking
was not unexpected after the impressive rally, analysts said
declines could be countered by investors who missed the rally
and who are looking to get back into the market.
                                
 Shares of PNC Financial rose 7.5 percent to $40.93 on the
New York Stock Exchange, while Fifth Third's stock gained 3.5
percent to $3.82 on the Nasdaq. The Holders Regional Bank
Sector ETF <RKH.P> added 5.4 percent.
                                
 Internet auction and marketplace giant eBay Inc <EBAY.O>
also helped lift the Nasdaq after quarterly earnings topped
Wall Street's expectations. Shares of eBay surged 12.3 percent
to $16.62.
                                
 Trading was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with
about 1.57 billion shares changing hands, slightly above last
year's estimated daily average of 1.49 billion, while on
Nasdaq, about 2.49 billion shares traded, above last year's
daily average of 2.28 billion.
                                
 Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
a ratio of about 3 to 2. In contrast, on the Nasdaq, about
eight stocks fell for every five that rose.
 (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Jan Paschal)