By Dhara Ranasinghe and Rae Wee

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) -Upbeat earnings and U.S. rate cut hopes helped boost the mood in equity markets on Friday, although skittishness prevailed in forex markets a day after Tokyo was believed to have stepped in to prop up a weak yen.

U.S. stock futures were mixed ESc1, 1YMc1, while Europe's STOXX 600 index rose to a one-month peak and London's FTSE-100 stock index gained 0.4%. Ericsson ERICb.ST rose 8% after the Swedish telecom gear maker reported a smaller-than-expected drop in second-quarter sales.

U.S. earnings kick off later in the day with big banks JPMorgan Chase JPM.N, Wells Fargo WFC.N and Citigroup C.N.

That could shift the market focus temporarily away from the U.S. rate outlook, a day after softer-than-expected inflation data boosted bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates in September.

Markets price in a quarter point cut in September compared to just over a 50% chance a month ago.

"The CPI is good news and obviously, equities to some degree, like it, but we're seeing other indicators suggest perhaps that things are softening in the U.S.," said James Rossiter, head of global macro strategy at TD Securities.

"Equities in particular have to look at this kind of potential easing from Fed cuts in September, against a clear pivot going on in the growth picture and for some stock sectors, it's going to be a bit more of a worry."

The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed almost 2% lower on Thursday, hit by losses in Nvidia, Apple and Tesla as investors rotated into smaller companies after the CPI release.

WILD YEN SWING

The yen swung between losses and gains in volatile trade. It surged nearly 3% on Thursday in its biggest daily rise since late 2022, shortly after U.S. consumer price figures revived hopes that the Fed will cut rates in September.

Japan's top currency diplomat said authorities would take action as needed in the foreign exchange market.

The dollar gained 0.2% to 159.20yen JPY=EBS on Friday, after rising more than 0.3% to an intraday high of 159.45 yen and falling 0.7% to a low of 157.75 yen in Asia trade.

"It's either one of two things - the market's either jumping at shadows this morning waiting for a second round of intervention, and I think now that the (Bank of Japan) has committed again, there's good reason for them to come back," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.

"The second thought is the market's just really skittish."

Moves were choppy in the other yen crosses though it subsided over the course of the trading day, with the euro last up 0.3% against the yen EURJPY= and sterling GBPJPY=up 0.4%, both reversing early losses.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.1%, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 fell more than 2%, dragged down by tech stocks.

In China, trade data on Friday was mixed. Exports grew at their fastest pace in 15 months in June, while imports unexpectedly shrank amid weak domestic demand, pointing to the need for further stimulus to shore up the economic recovery.

Markets hardly reacted to the figures, with Chinese blue chips .CSI300 rising 0.1%.

Elsewhere, sterling GBP=D3 rallied 0.15% to $1.2932, just shy ofa roughly one-year high hit on Thursday, as comments from Bank of England policymakers and a better-than-forecast GDP data led traders to reduce bets on an August rate cut.

Oil prices, meanwhile, rose as signs of strong summer demand and easing inflationary pressures in the United States bolstered investor confidence. O/R

Brent futures LCOc1 ticked up 0.6% to $85.89 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 gained 0.7%to $83.20 a barrel.

Gold XAU= edged 0.4%lower to $2,405 an ounce. GOL/

Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe in London and Raw Wee in Singapore; Editing by Arun Koyyur

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