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| - European stock markets steadied Wednesday after the previous session's slump thanks to upbeat regional growth data, but Wall Street dipped again on growing inflation fears. A bigger-than-expected hike in consumer prices in April saw the Dow Jones index off half a percent half an hour into the session amid fears of an about-face in Federal Reserve policy, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.0 percent. "The Fed is not going to panic after one startling consumer price index (CPI) report," said a note from Pantheon Macroeconomics. But it warned that "further hefty increases are coming." The Fed insists that while it sees inflation spiking owing to the recovery and the low base of comparison last year, officials will not make any policy adjustments such as lifting interest rates yet. "Although retailers do not need to worry too much about inflation impacting consumer spending, at least in the short-term, the jump in inflation is becoming a serious operational concern," said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. For Rawad Razaqzada, market analyst with ThinkMarkets, inflation worries will "dominate market talk -- and price action -- in the months ahead as investors start to think about monetary policy tightening and focus less on the economic growth story". The picture was moderately bright in Europe as London's benchmark FTSE 100 index added 0.9 percent two hours from the close after losing 2.5 percent Tuesday on surging inflation fears that continued to trouble most Asian equity markets Wednesday. Frankfurt added half a percent while Paris was flat. In foreign exchange, the dollar was higher against its main rivals, winning support from the prospect of tighter US interest rates sooner than expected because of high inflation. In Europe, "economic recovery optimism is overshadowing concerns of runaway inflation and helping... stocks pare some of the deep losses from the previous session", noted Sophie Griffiths, market analyst at Oanda trading group. The EU on Wednesday sharply revised its growth forecasts for this year and next, saying an accelerated vaccination drive and the bloc's landmark recovery plan would lift Europe out of recession. Global equities have had a rocky week as traders bet that the economic recovery will fan inflation and prompt central banks to reverse their easy money policies. A range of commodities including copper, iron ore and lumber have been touching multi-year highs, while observers warn rising demand for employees is also pushing up wage costs, adding upward pressure to prices. In a reminder that the global recovery from the pandemic remains fragile, oil demand dropped last month as the coronavirus surged in India and elsewhere, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday. New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 34,118.52 London - FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 7,009.08 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.5 percent at 15,198.90 Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 6,260.37 EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,940.75 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.6 percent at 28,147.51 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 28,231.04 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,462.75 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.2111 from $1.2148 Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.4111 from $1.4140 Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.70 pence from 85.91 pence Dollar/yen: UP at 109.15 yen from 108.62 yen Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.6 percent at $68.97 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $65.74 per barrel dan-bcp/rfj/cdw/lth
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