European stocks posted record highs on Wednesday while Wall Street markets closed weak on concerns about rising inflation that would push the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) to raise interest rates earlier than they should.
The trading session ended with all three major US indices closing lower as investors were still trying to process consumer activity in the face of rising inflation that would push the Fed to cut stimulus faster than it should.
The Dow Jones Industrial Index was down 0.58%, the S&P 500 was down 0.26%and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.33%.
The MSCI world equity index that tracks stocks in 45 countries fell 0.29%.
Rising petrol prices in Europe also raised inflation concerns, however strong earnings reports helped the German DAX, France’s CAC 40 and pan-European STOXX 600 post new closing records.
The 10 -year benchmark yield hit a 1.65% high since Oct. 26 before plummeting and falling to 1.59%.
The dollar index that measures the value of the dollar fell 0.15% at 95.795, the Euro was down 0.05% at $ 1.1313 and the Yen was down 0.62% at $ 114.1100.
US gold futures rose 0.9% at $ 1,870.20 an ounce as concerns over inflation have prompted investors to invest in gold.
Brent crude oil price fell $ 2.15 to $ 80.28 a barrel while US crude oil price fell $ 2.40 to $ 78.36 a barrel.
