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| - Oil prices surged Wednesday following the blockage of the Suez canal while stock markets turned in mixed performances. A grounded ship that has temporarily blocked the key transit route for oil, along with a slowdown in the United States, helped crude prices jump more than five percent. "After a tough day yesterday crude oil is rebounding after the growth in (US) stockpiles slowed to 1.9 million barrels from 2.4 million last week," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading firm IG. The slowing increase in stockpiles comes as data points to a rebound in travel activity in the US that "may well help crude oil rally to new heights", he added. Bitcoin rose to $56,530 after Tesla boss Elon Musk tweeted that the carmaker now accepts the virtual currency as payment in the United States. European stocks were mixed amid continued concerns the continent's worsening coronavirus crisis could derail economic recovery, although survey data showed the eurozone economy had returned to growth in March for the first time in six months. "The same old worries about another wave of coronavirus cases as well as concerns that Europe's lockdown will drag on are doing the rounds," said analyst David Madden at CMC Markets UK. Europe's two biggest economies, Germany and France, have been forced along with other countries to impose new restrictions to battle the disease, as they also struggle to get vaccination programmes rolling properly. Germany's DAX finished day 0.4 percent lower, while Paris squeaked out a gain. Outside the eurozone, London's FTSE 100 edged up 0.2 percent, with energy stocks helping pull up the index. In New York, stocks were also mixed in midday trading. "The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 are showing respectable gains as the US' economic recovery continues," said Madden, noting survey data showing the US economy improved over the month and that points to a solid expansion. In Asia, Hong Kong was among the biggest losers, dropping by two percent on news that the government had suspended its Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine programme over concerns about packaging, dealing a blow to the city's already slow inoculation programme. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index has now fallen into a correction having lost more that 10 percent from its recent high. Tokyo also shed two percent, while Shanghai, Mumbai and Jakarta each lost more than one percent. New York - Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 32,754.99 points EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 3,832.19 London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 6,712.89 (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.4 percent at 14,610.39 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP less than 0.1 percent at 5,947.29 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.0 percent at 28,405.52 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 2.0 percent at 27,918.14 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.3 percent at 3,367.06 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1834 from $1.1849 at 2200 GMT Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3730 from $1.3752 Euro/pound: UP at 86.18 pence from 86.17 pence Dollar/yen: UP at 108.77 yen from 108.59 yen West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.4 percent at $60.87 per barrel Brent North Sea crude: UP 5.3 percent at $64.03 per barrel burs-rl/wai
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