* Dow, S&P higher; Alcoa to report after market's close
* Rate expectations send Bund yield above 3.5 percent
* Dollar up vs euro after U.S. government shutdown avoided (Adds comment, details, updates prices)
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher on Monday on optimism over upcoming corporate earnings, while crude oil prices retreated after a recent run-up as investors eyed efforts to broker an end to Libya's civil war.
Aluminum maker Alcoa
The dollar rebounded against the euro after steep losses on Friday, as the U.S. government averted a potential shutdown, although the focus on the debt ceiling debate could limit the greenback's gains.
"The major companies reporting this week will give us a nice slice of what to expect this season, and if we get follow-through in the results, this could be the catalyst that finally gets more people back in the market," said Mike Shea, managing partner and trader at Direct Access Partners LLC in New York.
Alcoa, a Dow component, rose 0.7 percent to $18.05. The company is seen posting growth in both earnings and revenue.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 54.57 points, or 0.44 percent, at 12,434.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 3.12 points, or 0.23 percent, at 1,331.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was off 0.32 points, or 0.01 percent, at 2780.08.
World stocks as measured by MSCI <.MIWD00000PUS> were flat, with emerging markets <.MSCIEF> off 0.4 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, investors increasingly expect higher commodity prices to drive up inflation, prompting 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 before retracing some of its losses and moving above $126 a barrel. U.S. crude futures slipped under $112, giving back some ground after Friday's strong rally.
The African Union said Muammar Gaddafi had accepted a road map 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]
Analysts were skeptical about the peace deal.
"We have seen such peace plans before," said Carsten Fritsch of Commerzbank. "Unless Gaddafi steps down I think there is little room for discussion from the rebel side."
And even if an end to the civil war is in sight, it will be some time before Libyan exports return to pre-conflict levels.
"Some of Libya's oil fields, which have recently come under attack, have suffered severe damage, which is likely to have a long-lasting negative impact on the country's production profile," said Amrita Sen at Barclays Capital. "We don't believe there is reason to be optimistic even if Gaddafi were to step down, as the power vacuum would be very large."
ICE Brent crude for May
YEN OFF LOWS
The dollar rose against the euro after the U.S. Congress on Friday reached a last-minute budget deal that avoided a government shut-down. A rally in the dollar was also overdue after having been sold off versus the euro for the last four months. For the month of April, the dollar was still down more than 2 percent.
In midday New York trading, the euro
"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.
The yen was off an 11-month low against the euro and a 2-1/2-year trough versus the Australian dollar as another earthquake in Japan led some investors to pare bearish bets against the country's currency.
A strong aftershock hit Japan on Monday, while the evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was expanded because of high levels of radiation. [ID:nL3E7FA058]
The strong aftershock in Japan unnerved some investors, driving down copper prices after they earlier reached five-week highs on a weaker dollar and robust imports by top consumer China.
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.
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 Ryan Vlastelica and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Jeremy Gaunt, Saikat Chatterjee, Blaise Robinson and Anirban Nag in London; Editing by Leslie Adler)