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| - Major stock markets dipped slightly Monday as investors braced for potential signs of sustained inflation and awaited growth outlooks from the upcoming corporate earnings season. London, Frankfurt and Paris all eased lower at the close, and in New York, the Dow Jones index also showed a slight loss in afternoon trading. Asian equities declined earlier in the day after US Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell reiterated his view that the economy was improving -- but warned the deadly coronavirus still posed a risk. Bitcoin dipped below $60,000 ahead of Wednesday's stock market flotation of Coinbase, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange. Investors are now waiting for the release on Tuesday of the US consumer price index to have an idea of whether a huge US stimulus package and a global economic recovery could generate a sustained bout of inflation. "Tuesday's release of CPI is thus going to be important for the dollar and the markets in general," noted Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at ThinkMarkets. Specialists are concerned that inflation could force central banks to curtail generous monetary policies that have helped fuel a long period of stock market gains. Then, "with US first-quarter earnings season underway this week, we finally see a measure of just how far companies have come since the onset of the (coronavirus) crisis," said analyst Joshua Mahony at trading firm IG. "The US banks take centre stage for this first week," he said, noting that investors would closely follow news of any exposure to troubled hedge fund Archegos Capital Management. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are to post results on Wednesday, followed by Morgan Stanley on Friday. Razaqzada will be looking to see if "company CEOs (chief executives) mirror investors' optimism on the economic outlook, or will they provide more subdued forecasts?" Markets began the week mulling comments by Fed chief Powell, who told CBS television the world's top economy was getting back into gear, though he remained cautious. "The outlook has brightened substantially," he said, before adding: "I would say again though, there really are risks out there." Powell and other policymakers acknowledge that the recovery will likely fuel inflation. But despite long-running market worries that the bank will have to lift interest rates, they insist that monetary policy will remain very supportive until the economy is firmly back on its feet. New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 33,767.12 points EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,961.90 London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,889.12 (close) Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 6,161.68 (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.1 percent at 15,215.00 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 29,538.73 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 28,453.28 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,412.95 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1907 from $1.1899 at 2100 GMT Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3739 from $1.3707 Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.67 pence from 86.81 pence Dollar/yen: DOWN at 109.42 yen from 109.67 yen Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.5 percent at $63.27 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $59.70 per barrel dan-rfj/wai/lc
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