(Updates with U.S. markets, changes dateline from previous TOKYO)
* Light trading as Europe, other markets close for May Day
* Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) hit record high; earnings due Tuesday
* U.S. manufacturing slows, consumer spending flat
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - Apple shares hit a record high on Monday, lifting U.S. stocks and a gauge of key world equity indexes, while data on U.S. drilling and output kept downward pressure on oil prices.
Global trading was expected to be light, with some markets in Europe and Latin America closed for the May Day holiday, while Japan was open overnight during a shortened trading week.
Data showed U.S. manufacturing activity slowed in April while consumer spending was unchanged in March and a key inflation measure recorded its first monthly drop since 2001. Despite the soft data, traders continued to see a 7-in-10 chance that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in June.
On Wall Street, Apple and other large technology companies led the way, sending the Nasdaq Composite to a record high. Apple is due to report its earnings on Tuesday, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) will report on Wednesday.
Stocks were supported also as U.S. Congress negotiators agreed on a federal funding deal late on Sunday, removing a hurdle for investor confidence. have some renewed optimism that the market strength will continue helped by strong earnings and as a government shutdown was averted," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 20.07 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,960.58, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 5.84 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,390.04 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 30.82 points, or 0.51 percent, to 6,078.43.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.25 percent.
Emerging market stocks rose 0.19 percent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.33 percent higher, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 0.59 percent.
U.S. drillers added nine oil rigs in the week to April 28, bringing the count to the most since April 2015, energy services company Baker Hughes said on Friday. Crude output in the United States has hit its highest since August 2015, government data shows.
"The U.S. rig count indicates that there is plenty more to come," analysts at JBC Energy said in a report, referring to the outlook for U.S. production.
U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 1.28 percent to $48.70 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $51.37, down 1.31 percent on the day.
Crude prices were also pressured by data showing that growth in Chinese manufacturing slowed faster than expected in April.
The weak U.S. data initially weighed on the dollar, but moves among major currencies were relatively small. The dollar index .DXY fell 0.1 percent, with the euro EUR= up 0.18 percent at $1.0915.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.04 percent versus the greenback to 111.61 per dollar, while sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.2926, down 0.15 percent on the day.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 6/32 in price to yield 2.3036 percent, from 2.282 percent late on Friday.
Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.3 percent to $1,264.00 an ounce. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.25 percent to $1,265.10 an ounce.
Copper CMCU3 rose 0.76 percent to $5,735.50 a tonne.