* Wall Street higher on earnings optimism
* Rate expectations send Bund yield above 3.5 percent
* Yen comes off recent lows after latest aftershock (Adds IMF economic forecast, updates prices)
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher on Monday on hopes for strong earnings, while crude oil prices retreated on signs of progress in Libyan peace talks.
The African Union said Muammar Gaddafi had accepted a roadmap to end the civil war, but forces loyal to him shelled the town of Misrata. A broker said oil also fell on profit-taking. For details, see [ID:nL3E7FB0Z5].
Aluminum maker Alcoa
The yen rebounded from an 11-month low against the euro and a 2-1/2 year trough versus the Australian dollar, after the latest earthquake, with a magnitude 6.6, prompted some investors to unwind riskier bets often funded by cheap borrowing in the Japanese currency.
"The good news for bulls as we enter earnings season is that expectations appear to be low," said Todd Salamone, senior vice president of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 41.93 points, or 0.34 percent, at 12,422.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 2.32 points, or 0.17 percent, at 1,330.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was off 2.11 points, or 0.08 percent, at 2778.36.
World stocks as measured by MSCI <.MIWD00000PUS> were flat, with emerging markets <.MSCIEF> off 0.5 percent. European stocks fell, with the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares down 0.1 percent.
Although the world economy is fairly robust, there are growing expectations among investors that accompanying higher commodity prices will drive up inflation and prompt central banks to tighten monetary policy sooner.
The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it did not believe that rising commodity prices will derail the global economic recovery, but warned inflation will remain elevated for a while.
Brent crude oil earlier fell by more than $1 to below $125 but has since retraced some of its losses moving above $126 a barrel and U.S. crude futures slipped under $112, giving back some ground after Friday's strong rally.
ICE Brent crude for May
YEN OFF LOWS
The euro touched its highest against the yen since May 2010
of 123.33 yen
Traders said speculator positioning and some technical indicators suggested that recent rallies in the euro and the Australian dollar against the yen could pause in the short run, with the latest in a series of quakes being used by some to book profits.
The euro fell 0.3 percent versus the dollar to $1.4441
The dollar found some support after the U.S. government averted a potential shutdown, although analysts said the focus on the debt ceiling debate could limit the greenback's gains.
"We're having some sort of relief rally after the U.S. government did not shut down as feared," said David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.
Expectations of another rise in European Central Bank interest rates by July kept the euro close to recent highs and pushed euro zone government bond prices lower.
German Bund yields
The ECB raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points last week to 1.25 percent, the first hike since 2008, and used language suggesting that another rise is in the pipeline. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Gaunt, Saikat Chatterjee, Blaise Robinson and Anirban Nag in London; Gertrude Chavez and Angela Moon in New York; Editing by Kenneth Barry)