LONDON: European stocks struggled Thursday as investors paused after Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average bulldozed past 22,000 points for the first time, while London flatlined before an interest rate call.
The euro ran into profit-taking, having surged Wednesday above $1.19 for the first time since 2015 after two Federal Reserve speakers expressed caution over further US interest rate hikes.
Asian equities pulled lower with sentiment also dampened by falling tech shares and a survey that showed slowing activity in China's services sector.
"Equity markets in Europe have been broadly edging lower in the past few months and today is no different," said analyst David Madden at trading firm CMC Markets UK.
"In Asia, we saw a slight fall in equities as the Caixin survey of Chinese services grew at a slower rate than expected, and that gave traders an excuse to sell."
At 1100 GMT, the Bank of England will unveil its interest rate decision alongside its latest quarterly economic forecasts.
The British central bank, headed by governor Mark Carney, is expected to keep the key rate at a record-low 0.25 percent -- where it has now stood for one year.
No change is expected after recent lacklustre economic growth and easing inflation dented market speculation over a possible hike, dealers said.
"Today is likely to be dominated by the latest appearance from Mark Carney at the Bank of England, with so-called Super Thursday providing us with a whole host of economic forecasts alongside the usual rate decision," added IG analyst Joshua Mahony.
"With... inflation falling back significantly since the last meeting, there is reason to believe this month will be significantly less hawkish than June, which could spark a sterling sell-off and subsequent FTSE rally."
- Dow enjoys Apple boost -
Elsewhere, Asian markets paused for breath after the Dow smashed through 22,000 for the first time.
Strong Apple earnings propelled the US index to its sixth straight record close -- but the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped.
Analysts said despite euphoria over the Dow's fresh record, investors were still watching the Federal Reserve's plan to unload its balance sheet following its vast quantitative easing programme.
US stocks have risen to new highs as second-quarter earnings have broadly exceeded expectations, even as the greenback has come under sustained pressure from political uncertainty in Washington with the Trump administration mired in controversy.
But a trigger for further dollar losses could come on Friday if US non-farm payrolls data for July disappoint and are seen lessening the odds of additional Fed rate hikes.
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