Yahoo Finance European stocks lose momentum after global rally
European stocks lost some of their recent momentum on Wednesday while Wall Street treaded water and London failed to pull off a third straight day of record closes.
The British capital's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top blue-chip companies fell back after an intra-day high to lose 0.1 percent on the day.
London this week became the latest global bourse to scale historic heights, following recent records in Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo and Wall Street, propelled also by the prospect of global interest rate cuts owing to easing inflation.
Paris and Frankfurt stalled, too, while Wall Street was mixed as investors digested another batch of corporate results and welcomed easing Middle East tensions while tracking an unclear interest rates outlook.
The Dow was in the red, while the broad-based S&P 500 was essentially flat. The tech-rich Nasdaq crept up slightly.
FOREX.com's Fawad Razaqzada cautioned that "one big source of worry for investors is the rising levels of interest payment by the US government, which is not going to be addressed any time soon" as Washington prepares a $70 billion bond auction.
"I certainly wouldn't rule out the possibility of a renewed sell-off in stocks, as much of the existing macro worries are still there," Razaqzada added.
"Risk is back on in a broad way," XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks told AFP.
"Earnings reports are doing the talking this week, and so far the results are generally good."
In the United States, Tesla shares shot up 12.1 percent despite disappointing results after Chief Executive Elon Musk pledged to accelerate production of new, more affordable electric vehicles.
Boeing shares dropped 2.9 percent as it reported a quarterly loss of $343 million, reflecting slower output due to safety concerns.
"There is a measure of relief that the earnings reports from Tesla and Boeing were better than feared," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
General Electric, Spotify, and diaper and paper product brand Kimberly-Clark were among the companies posting strong gains after releasing quarterly reports.
Microsoft and Alphabet are among the other top firms set to announce their results this week.
Hopes for a strong batch of earnings -- particularly from tech titans -- have been a key driver of the rally in stocks, helping to offset disappointment that the Federal Reserve will not cut interest rates as much as hoped this year.
Sentiment was also buoyed as many investors fished for bargains following a recent pullback, while easing Middle East tensions provided additional support.
French luxury giant Kering was a major loser on the day in Paris, giving up seven percent after it issued a profit warning following slumping sales at its flagship Gucci brand.
Oil prices meanwhile receded after jumping Tuesday on a report pointing to another build-up in US inventories that raised questions about demand in the world's top economy.
- Key figures around 2020 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 38,460.92 points (close)
New York - S&P 500: FLAT at 5,071.63 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.1 percent at 15,712.75 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,040.38 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,091.86 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: Down 0.3 percent at 18,088.70 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 4,989.88 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.4 percent at 38,460.08 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.2 percent at 17,201.27 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,044.82 (close)
Dollar/yen: UP at 155.31 yen from 154.83 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0701 from $1.0703
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2461 from $1.2448
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.85 pence from 85.96 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $88.02 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $82.81 per barrel
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