GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks dip, yields inch up; focus on upcoming US inflation data, earnings

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S&P 500 slightly lower in afternoon trading

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10-year Treasury yield edge up

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Bitcoin slips

(Updates to 1:20 p.m. EST; adds European stocks close, new quote, Treasury auction)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Global stock indexes mostly eased and Treasury yields edged higher on Tuesday, with investors bracing for key U.S. inflation data this week and the start of fourth-quarter company earnings.

The dollar was mixed, while in cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell but remained near its strongest level since April 2022 amid anticipation the Securities and Exchange Commission will approve spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

All eyes will be on the U.S. consumer prices report for December, due on Thursday. It is expected to show headline inflation rose 0.2% in the month and by 3.2% on an annual basis.

Investors are looking for clues on when the Federal Reserve may begin cutting interest rates. Fed funds futures indicate a 64% probability of a March cut, down from 70% a week ago, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Results from some of the biggest American banks on Friday will unofficially kick off the U.S. earnings season.

"This is pre-earnings jitters, with valuations being quite rich, and you needing earnings growth to support these valuations," said Phil Blancato, chief executive officer of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management.

The S&P 500 rose 24% in 2023.

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York, said stock investors may also be nervous following news from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd . Samsung reported a likely 35% drop in fourth-quarter operating profit on Tuesday, much worse than analysts expected as weak consumer demand persisted in many of its businesses even as memory chip prices improved.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 173.11 points, or 0.46%, to 37,509.90, the lost 3.33 points, or 0.07%, to 4,759.91 and the gained 35.90 points, or 0.24%, to 14,879.67.

Boeing shares were down 0.7%. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said late on Monday it could not yet tell whether a recovered cabin panel that blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane during a flight last week had been properly attached.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 nations, lost 0.15%, while European stocks ended down 0.2%. Earlier, Japan's Nikkei share average hit its highest level since March 1990.

Euro area unemployment data released on Tuesday came in below expectations.

The 10-year benchmark U.S. Treasury yield was up slightly at 4.02%, with U.S. Treasury yields briefly trimming gains after a solid U.S. Treasury three-year auction.

The dollar rose 0.12% against the yen to 144.38, while the euro was down 0.1% on the day at $1.0936, and the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was up 0.2% at 102.52.

The dollar index hit a five-month low in December, with investors betting the Fed would cut rates sooner rather than later.

U.S. crude ticked up 2.29% to $72.41 a barrel. Brent crude rose to $77.73 per barrel. Spot gold was near steady at $2,028.29 per ounce.

(Additional reporting by Alun John in London, Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Johann M Cherian and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru. Editing by Sharon Singleton, Andrew Heavens, Jonathan Oatis and Nick Macfie)