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Stocks on Wall Street fell on Thursday as investors lowered their expectations that Bernanke, who is due to address central bankers at an annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, will announce drastic measures to kickstart growth in the world's top economy.

His speech last year laid the groundwork for the Fed's $600 billion bond-buying program to revive the economy under the rubric "QE2" for the Fed's second round of stimulus, or quantitative easing.

While investors have speculated Bernanke could signal a new monetary offensive in his talk, many analysts say he could well disappoint those looking for major measures, such as a QE3.

"The market is lacking upside potential as some doubt there will be another round of quantitative easing from the Fed," said Lee Suk-won, a market strategist at E-Trade Securities.

The Nikkei 225 index .N225 edged up 0.04 percent, while the broader MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index .MIAPJ0000PUS also gained 0.1 percent.

The U.S. dollar rose to 77.39 against the yen, up 0.7 percent, after a rise in U.S. jobless claims and more volatility in euro zone debt market added to investor nervousness.

Brent crude edged up 0.15 percent to $110.88 per barrel, while gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,766.3.

(Additional reporting by Ju-min Park; in Seoul; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

In announcing he could no longer fulfill his duties and would resign as chief executive, Jobs made headlines worldwide and raised questions about the future of a $350 billion company that revolutionized computing and consumer electronics.

One headline, in Brazil's O Globo newspaper, declared: "Steve Jobs created our world."

Investors took the shift in stride, expressing confidence in Apple's product pipeline, managers and newly appointed CEO Tim Cook, who promised the company would stay the course.

"Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that -- it is in our DNA," Cook, 50, wrote in a memo to staff.

Shares closed down less than 1 percent at $373.62 and outperformed the major stock indexes. Shares are up nearly 57 percent in the past year and remain a favorite of analysts even in the absence of Jobs. At least 13 brokerages maintained their stock price targets in research notes issued Thursday.

Often mentioned in the same breath as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison or Walt Disney, Jobs is credited with bringing Apple back from the brink of disaster. Since his return to Apple in 1996, after an absence of more than a decade, the company's stock price has climbed roughly 9,000 percent.

In recent years, Jobs' battle with pancreatic cancer has been of deep concern to Apple fans and investors. Jobs, 56, who has been on medical leave since January, will become chairman.

"Over the course of last year, investors have become more comfortable with the idea of life after Jobs," said Edward Jones analyst Bill Kreher. "I think it is encouraging that he will remain with the company as chairman, but the real story is that Tim Cook has emerged as a capable successor."

Cook, a former Compaq executive and an acknowledged master of supply-chain management, has taken over the helm in each of Jobs' three health-related absences, including his most recent one starting January 17.

His first big test could come as early as next month, when, according to a source, Apple is planning to introduce the iPhone 5 -- the sort of occasion that Jobs the showman could turn into a spectacle.

Cook, who was chief operating officer, is typically more low-key in public and around the office, according to those who have worked for him.

"Tim is an extremely analytical, methodical leader, data-driven, objective and unemotional," said one former Apple executive. "That is in contrast to his former boss."

Jobs briefly emerged from his leave in March to unveil the latest version of the iPad and later to attend a dinner hosted by President Barack Obama for technology leaders.

Yet his gaunt appearance sparked questions about how bad his illness was, and his ability to continue at Apple.

"I will say to investors: 'Don't panic and remain calm -- it's the right thing to do. Steve will be chairman and Cook is CEO," said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis.

Jobs did not give details on the state of his health. But oncologists who have not treated the Apple founder said he could be facing several problems tied to his rare form of pancreatic cancer and subsequent liver transplant.

Such problems include possible hormone imbalances or a recurrence of cancer that is harder to fight once the body has been weakened.

Jobs' privacy when it came to health matters often frustrated investors and employees. Even board members have confided to friends their concern that Jobs, in his quest for privacy, was not being forthcoming with directors about the true condition of his health.

"I think a lack of clarity of its succession plan in the past has been a distraction so we appreciate that this plan represents a smooth and orderly transition," Edward Jones' Kreher said.

As Apple chief, Jobs earned a reputation for commanding every aspect of operations -- from day-to-day running to broad strategic decisions. Even the front yard of his home in Palo Alto, California, is dotted with Apple trees.

In the process, he won widespread respect from rivals and drew comparisons to other iconic business leaders.

"As a competitor, Jobs has clearly raised the bar for all of us in the industry and helped reset what personal computing is," said Todd Bradley, executive vice president of Hewlett-Packard's Personal Systems Group.

"At the same time, Steven's board have built a transition plan and we will continue to view them as an aggressive competitor."

(Additional reporting by Bill Rigby, Alexei Oreskovic, Sarah McBride and Jim Christie in San Francisco; Edwin Chan, Lisa Richwine and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Peter Lauria, Liana B. Baker, Jennifer Saba and Tiffany Wu in New York; Brian Winter in Sao Paulo; Tarmo Virki in Helsinki; and Georgina Prodhan in London)

(Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Derek Caney and Robert MacMillan)

Technology shares will be in focus after Jobs resigned and passed the reins to his right-hand man Tim Cook, saying he could no longer fulfill the duties.

Apple shares fell 7 percent in after-hours trade on Wednesday, while its stocks traded in Frankfurt were down 4.8 percent. Apple has the biggest effect on the Nasdaq 100's daily moves, as it accounted for more than 14 percent of the index at the end of trading on Wednesday, according to Reuters data.

The Labor Department releases first-time claims for jobless benefits for the week ended August 20 at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a total of 405,000 new filings compared with 408,000 in the prior week.

AT&T said on Wednesday the Federal Communications Commission had requested more information about its acquisition of T-Mobile in relation to its commitment to expand high-speed wireless services to 97 percent of all Americans.

The Obama administration is working on proposals to prop up the weak U.S. housing market and may back a plan to refinance government-backed mortgages at today's lower interest rates, the New York Times reported, citing two people briefed on the discussions.

Companies reporting results include Hormel Foods and Big Lots.

European shares rose 1 percent on Thursday, extending a rally into a fourth day as speculation grew that U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke would announce stimulus measures for the struggling U.S. economy on Friday. Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.5 percent.

Bernanke was due to address central bankers at an annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday. His speech last year laid the groundwork for the Fed's unprecedented $600 billion bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing or QE2, to revive a sputtering U.S. economy.

U.S. stocks rallied for a second day on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 143.95 points, or 1.29 percent, to end at 11,320.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 15.25 points, or 1.31 percent, to finish at 1,177.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 21.63 points, or 0.88 percent, to close at 2,467.69.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Dan Lalor)

Jobs, who fought and survived a rare form of pancreatic cancer and revolutionized the technology arena with the iPhone and the iPad in the past four years, is deemed the heart and soul of a company that recently briefly became the most valuable in America.

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come," Jobs, who becomes chairman, said in a brief letter announcing his resignation.

The letter and a separate terse, somewhat cryptic statement from Apple raised more questions than it answered about Jobs' health and the future of the company.

While it's unlikely that his departure as CEO will derail Apple's ambitious product-launch roadmap in the near term, there are concerns about whether the company would be as creative beyond the next year or so without its founder and visionary at the helm.

That is why Apple's stock dropped as much as 7 percent in after-hours trading when Jobs' departure was announced.

In the company statement, Apple co-lead director Art Levinson on behalf of the board praised Jobs' "extraordinary vision and leadership" and "countless contributions to Apple's success", saying he would continue to serve the company with "unique insights, creativity and inspiration."

However, the statement, which also talked about Cook's outstanding performance, said nothing about Jobs' health.

His battle with pancreatic cancer, which has stretched over several years, has been of deep concern to Apple fans, investors and the company's board. Over the past two years, even board members have confided to friends their concern that Jobs, in his quest for privacy, wasn't being forthcoming with directors about the true condition of his health.

Jobs has been on medical leave since January 17, with his duties being filled by Cook, who was chief operating officer.

Some industry insiders privately expressed concern Jobs' relinquishing the CEO position was a clear signal he was too ill to keep up its punishing pace.

The 55-year-old Jobs had briefly emerged from his medical leave in March to unveil the latest version of the iPad and later to attend a dinner hosted by President Barack Obama for technology leaders in Silicon Valley. But his often-gaunt appearance had sparked questions about how bad his illness is and his ability to continue at Apple.

In each of Jobs' three health-related absences, Cook has taken over the helm. But the 50-year-old Alabama native, a former Compaq executive and an acknowledged master of supply-chain management, remains largely untested in Wall Street's view.

That's partly why, despite Cook being viewed as a safe bet to run Apple's sprawling empire, some still think his boss will be very badly missed.

One Silicon Valley CEO, who declined to be identified because of the sensitive issues involved, said the tone of Jobs' statement indicated his health might be worse than publicly known. The Apple chieftain has earned a reputation for commanding every aspect of operations -- from day-to-day running to broad strategic decisions -- suggesting he would not give up the job if he had a choice.

"It's really sad," the CEO told Reuters. "No one is looking at this as a business thing, but as a human thing. No one thinks that Steve is just stepping aside because he just doesn't want to be CEO of Apple anymore."

"It feels like another shoe is going to drop."

AGAIN, DEEP BENCH

While Jobs did not give details on the state of his health, oncologists who have not treated the Apple founder said he could be facing several problems tied to his rare form of pancreatic cancer and subsequent liver transplant. They include possible hormone imbalances or a recurrence of cancer that is harder to fight once the body has already been weakened

His resignation certainly marks the end of an era at Apple.

A college dropout, a Buddhist and a son of adoptive parents, he started Apple Computer with friend Steve Wozniak in the late 1970s.

The company soon introduced the Apple 1 computer. But it was the Apple II that became a huge success and gave Apple its position as a critical player in the then-nascent PC industry, culminating in a 1980 IPO that made Jobs a multimillionaire.

Despite the subsequent success of the Mac, Jobs' relationship with internal management soured, and in 1985 the board removed most of his powers and he left the company, selling all but one share of his Apple holdings.

Apple's fortunes waned after that. However, its purchase of NeXT -- the computer company Jobs founded after leaving Apple -- in 1997 brought him back into the fold. Later that year, he became interim CEO and in 2000, the company dropped "interim" from his title.

"Steve Jobs is the most successful CEO in the U.S. of the last 25 years," Google Inc Chairman Eric Schmidt said in a statement. "He uniquely combined an artists touch and an engineer's vision to build an extraordinary company.. one of the greatest American leaders in history."

Some Apple fans took to social media to express their reaction in crudely poetic, though somewhat poignant, terms. One Apple fan from Denmark posted on Facebook: "Good Job. I just ate an Apple. It was bittersweet. Guess I'll just have to Cook it from now on."

Analysts again expressed confidence in the Apple bench, headed by supply-chain maven Cook.

"I will say to investors: don't panic and remain calm, it's the right thing to do. Steve will be chairman and Cook is CEO," said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis.

On Wednesday, Apple shares slid to $357.40 in extended trading after a brief halt. They had gained 0.7 percent to close at $376.18 on the Nasdaq.

"Investors are very comfortable with Tim Cook even though Jobs has been a driver of innovation and clearly an Apple success. Tim has shown Apple can still outperform extremely well when he's been acting as CEO," said Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross.

Apple previously did not have a chairman, but had two independent co-lead directors. In his letter, which was addressed to the Apple board and the Apple community, Jobs said: "I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee."

They did see fit.

(Additional reporting by Bill Rigby, Alexei Oreskovic, Sarah McBride and Jim Christie in San Francisco, Lisa Richwine and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles, and Peter Lauria and Tiffany Wu in New York)

(Editing by Gary Hill, Martin Howell)

Apple and Samsung are fighting a series of legal battles over patents with U.S. market leader Apple and South Korea's Samsung slugging it out in courtrooms spanning the United States, Europe and Asia. At the center of the disputes are claims and counterclaims of patent infringements on smartphone and tablet designs and copyright issues.

Samsung scored what it claims is a partial victory in the Netherlands on Wednesday after a court ruled its smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace had broken just one of three patents at issue. The court said it found no infringement for Samsung's tablets.

The resignation of Jobs, Apple's visionary founder and chief executive officer, could also benefit the Korean company in the sense that Apple could lose direction, analysts said.

"Jobs' resignation has a positive impact on market sentiment toward Samsung...Investors were concerned about whether Samsung will be able to continue to fare well in the smartphone market as Apple is growing market share," said Jeon Nam-joong, a fund manager at Consus Asset Management.

"But Job's resignation will offer opportunities to Samsung for a longer term, although it will not have an immediate impact."

By 0310 GMT, shares in Samsung, the world's biggest technology firm by revenue, had risen 3.4 percent after rising as much as 4.2 percent earlier and beating a 1.9 percent rise in the wider market.

INTERCONTINENTAL PATENT WARS

Apple and Samsung have filed lawsuits against each other in Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea. One of Samsung's defenses in the United States centers on Stanley Kubrick's "2001: Space Odyssey." Samsung said in legal filings that Apple's iPad is modeled in part on electronic equipment depicted in the film, and therefore do not qualify as original designs.

The sales injunction on the three smartphone models in some European countries will not be effective until at least October 13 and the patent violation could be resolved by making technical changes to the smartphones, the court said. This would then allow sales to go forward.

Samsung is the nearest rival to Apple in smartphones and its shipments in the second quarter were just 1 million units short of Apple's 20.3 million unit sales, according to market data. But it is a distant second in the booming tablet market.

Apple and Samsung are vying for the world's top spot in the smartphone market after Nokia, the market leader for a decade, was ousted by Apple in the second quarter.

(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Ju-min Park; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner, Ken Wills and Matt Driskill)