Trump-Fueled Stocks Rally Slows

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A strong run for world equities since Donald Trump's election showed signs of reversing Wednesday as Wall Street posted losses and European equities trod water.

"U.S. stocks are lower in early action after yesterday's continued rally to all-time highs, and European equities are mixed, with the global markets assessing recent runs and festering political risks on both sides of the Atlantic," Charles Schwab analysts said in a note to investors.

Continental European markets also mostly slipped, with Paris and Milan trading lower.

The Dax 30 index in Frankfurt, however, managed to top the key 12,000 level for the first time since the spring of 2015 in early business, before profit-taking set it.

Investors cheered the sale by ThyssenKrupp of its loss-making Brazilian steel mill, sending the heavy industry giant's share price more than four percent higher. 

But they were doubtful on Bayer even as the company said its Monsanto takeover was on track, selling the stock.   

"Gains from engineer Thyssenkrupp’s Brazilian asset sale are offsetting questions about Bayer's growth following the big Monsanto acquisition," said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo markets.

Also, German business confidence unexpectedly bounced back in February, a key survey showed Wednesday, even as political uncertainty continues to cloud the prospects for Europe's biggest economy.

The Ifo institute's headline index climbed to 111 points, the same level it reached in December, after slipping to 109.9 points in January.

- Weak pound helps London -

London hung on to positive territory by a thread, helped by a recovering financial sector as Lloyds posted strong results, pushing the bank's stock higher.

Renewed optimism for banks also lifted HSBC shares off the lows it hit Tuesday on worse-than-expected results.

The FTSE 100 index was also helped by sterling heading lower in reaction to mixed UK growth data ahead of Brexit, analysts said.

Britain's economy grew by a better-than-expected 0.7 percent in the final three months of last year, according to official revised data that also revealed that for the whole of 2016 it expanded by a lower-than-forecast 1.8 percent.

"The main impact of all this was, as expected, felt by the pound," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell. 

Sterling's weakness since last year's Brexit vote has been a boon for British exporters, boosting their earnings in other currencies than the pound.

Earlier, Hong Kong had led most Asia markets higher, but Tokyo struggled as a stronger yen weighed on exporters' share prices.

Shares in Toshiba soared more than 22 percent on expectations of a part sale for its microchip business, and after the Japanese giant sold its medical finance unit to Canon. 

Despite the surge, the company's shares are still worth only half of what they were in December owing to concerns about massive losses in its U.S. nuclear arm.

Back in Europe, shares in Airbus fell 1.4 percent after the aircraft maker said its profits nosedived last year as charges related to problems with its A400M military cargo transport plane sent earnings into a tailspin.

The dollar rose as investors continued to bank on an early Fed rate rise.

Oil slumped, with investors struggling to make up their minds whether OPEC production cuts and U.S. production increases add up to an overall positive or negative for prices.

- Key figures around 1455 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,278.90 points

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.2 percent at 11,985.62

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 4,870.98

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,328.59 

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 20,728.87

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 19,379.87 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.0 percent at 24,201.96 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,261.22 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0512 from $1.0535

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2463 from $1.2477

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 113.14 yen from 113.69 yen

Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN 73 cents at $56.03 per barrel

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 71 cents at $53.62

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