Sawt Falasteen - Stocks mixed, dollar firms as rate-hike fears resurface

After the Paris CAC 40 reached a fresh record-high at 7,552 points, profit-taking set in and the French index was flat in early afternoon deals.

The dollar firmed on prospects of more US rate-tightening and oil prices slipped.

While cooler inflation is said to have eased the pressure on the European Central Bank and peers such as the Federal Reserve and Bank of England to keep raising borrowing costs, consumer prices remain elevated.

"I don't think all of the rate hikes have worked their way through the system and it looks as though the Fed is going to continue to tighten," warned Frances Stacy, at Optimal Capital Advisors.

"I don't think we're completely out of the woods yet," Stacy added following data Friday showing a sizeable drop in US retail sales.

Marty Dropkin, of Fidelity International, meanwhile noted that "the banking industry's vulnerabilities are a sign of a tighter monetary policy environment, which will lead to even tighter financial conditions.

"We remain cautious on global equities and anticipate increasing volatility as top line pressures worsen in the coming months as labour and financing costs rise and other cyclical indicators become weaker."

This comes despite forecast-beating earnings from US banking titans last week that eased concerns about the sector after last month's turmoil that saw three regional lenders go under.

Elsewhere, traders were keenly awaiting the release of Chinese growth data Tuesday that provides the first snapshot of how the economy has fared without painful zero-Covid restrictions.

Analysts polled by AFP expect an average of 3.8 percent year-on-year growth in January-March.

- Key figures around 1100 GMT -

Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 7,521.94 points

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,903.54

Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 15,812.19

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,380.98

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 28,514.78 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.7 percent at 20,782.45 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 3,385.61 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 33,886.47 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0986 from $1.0997 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2409 from $1.2416

Dollar/yen: UP at 133.99 yen from 133.75 yen

Euro/pound: FLAT at 88.53 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $82.12 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $85.92 per barrel

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S.Abdullah--SF-PST