London: World stocks inched lower yesterday from the previous day's six-week high and oil tumbled, while the yen rose broadly as investors grew cautious after a recent rally in riskier assets.
US technology shares rallied on Monday after JP Morgan Chase recommended Cisco Systems to investors while an analyst's upgrade sent Research in Motion higher.
But the momentum was not kept up in Europe where banks and some resource shares fell.
Robust corporate performance and upbeat fourth-quarter results from major companies have helped investors push the benchmark MSCI world stocks up to a break-even level for the year after a pullback in January and February.
"The market had a good recovery after correction lows and it would be tough in the near term, even though you are still in a cyclical bull market, to just race ahead. People are still cautious," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin. The MSCI world equity index fell 0.2 per cent while the FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 0.4 per cent.
Emerging stocks were down 0.15 per cent.
US crude oil fell 0.8 per cent to $81.19 (Dh298.13) a barrel, having risen above $82 a day earlier. Forecasts for growing US crude inventories tempered recent bullish sentiment.
The dollar was up 0.2 per cent against a basket of major currencies.
"The market seems to be in the mood to take a breather at the moment with little appetite for the choppiness and volatility witnessed over the past week. Another sparse data calendar implies little fundamental impulse for currencies today," Credit Agricole told clients.
"This lack of focus would favour a sideways move for most exchange rates, but assuming that the slightly more relaxed approach to risks — be they Greek variety or otherwise — continues, the market may feel confident enough to edge back toward other G10 currencies and away from the yen."
