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| - European markets closed Tuesday little moved after earlier flurries of post-coronavirus optimism, while US stocks were mixed as the inflation outlook and potential consequences for central bank policy remain unclear. London, Frankfurt and the Euro Stoxx index were all close to flat, while Paris fell slightly. European trading saw "a gain for the Information Technology sector suggesting a reprieve from recent inflation worries that have heavily impacted growth-related stocks and fostered some volatile action," Charles Schwab analysts wrote. Nevertheless, "optimism remains regarding the global economic recovery as vaccine rollouts gain steam in the US and Europe," they added. That optimism stood up to a 1.3-percent first-quarter contraction in Japanese GDP and a 0.6-percent fall in the 19-nation eurozone, revealed in official data releases. Lower output didn't hold Tokyo's stock market back from leading Asian gains, while Taiwan and Singapore defied fears of spreading coronavirus variants to close higher. Meanwhile Frankfurt hit a new record before falling back in afternoon deals. The eurozone's January-March growth reading was "old news", Capital Economics analyst Jack Allen-Reynolds commented, saying that "more recently the economy is likely to have begun to recover" as countries ease restrictions. On Wall Street, the Dow fell while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed, reflecting its many tech companies now less burdened by inflation fears. Oil fell back after Brent crude briefly broke $70 a barrel, hitting the highest level since March on solid demand as economies reopen around the world. And the dollar slid versus its main rivals as easing inflation worries dampened the prospect of a US interest-rate rise, while the pound won support from upbeat UK unemployment numbers. US Federal Reserve officials have spoken out to try and dampen fears of a resurgent economy and massive central bank support triggering consistently higher inflation. Higher prices could ultimately pressure the Fed to raise interest rates or wind back other forms of financial easing. The key event this week is the release of minutes from the US central bank's April policy meeting, which will be scanned for clues about board members' views on price rises. For now on markets, "last week's inflation surge... and the subsequent market drop seems like a distant memory," Thinkmarkets analyst Fawad Razaqzada said. "While inflation and tightening worries could come back to the forefront, traders are continuing to take advantage of the ongoing bullish momentum for stocks and bearish trend of the dollar." New York - Dow: DOWN 0.25 percent at 34,242.46 points London - FTSE 100: UP less than 0.1 percent at 7,034.24 (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.1 percent at 15,386.58 (close) Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,353.67 (close) EURO STOXX 50: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 4,005.34 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.1 percent at 28,406.84 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.4 percent at 28,593.81 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,529.01 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.2208 from $1.2140 at 2115 GMT on Monday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.4196 from $1.4100 Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.02 pence from 86.07 pence Dollar/yen: DOWN at 108.93 yen from 109.34 yen Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $69.24 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $65.95 per barrel dan-bcp/tgb/lth
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