PARIS: Global markets struggled to find a clear direction Thursday as their recent strong run sparked by Donald Trump's election ran out of steam and investors digested a fresh batch of European corporate earnings and minutes from the US Federal Reserve.
"European equities are trading mixed again as a decent results season continues, eurozone politics heats up and the outlook for central bank policy is no clearer after Fed minutes which keep us guessing about US rate hike timing," said Mike van Dulken of Accendo Markets.
"The way markets are continuing to grind higher, it would appear investors are unwilling to go against the rally but at the same time, there's little conviction in it either," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.
"At some point, in the absence of details on Trump's tax and stimulus plans the rally may run out of steam," the expert continued.
"Hopefully Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin will today offer some insight into what these plans may entail in order to give investors a taste of what's to come and justify the levels we now find ourselves at."
In a television interview, Mnuchin said tax cuts and reduced regulations would boost economic growth to three percent by the end of next year.
"I think it's very achievable. If you look at long-term growth, we have underperformed where we need to be," Mnuchin told CNBC.
"We believe we can be competitive and get back to sustainable growth at three percent or more."
His comments marked a step back from Trump's campaign promise of four percent growth, a target widely regarded as unrealistic.
Asian markets had ended the session lower as the recent Trump rally that has inflated global stocks since the beginning of the year finally appeared to have hit the buffers.
The day before, New York's Dow index had racked up a ninth successive all-time high, but analysts said there was a sense that the advance may have gone too far.
- US Federal Reserve 'disappoints' -
"The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee ... were hardly a surprise but they did disappoint investors who had been hoping, perhaps unreasonably, that they would hint at a rate increase next month. They didn't, so the dollar retreated," said analysts at MoneyCorp in a note.
In Europe, a flurry of corporate earnings reports included British bank Barclays which said it had returned to profit after slashing provisions set aside for legal and compensation costs linked to foreign exchange and insurance scandals.
Its shares gained two percent to 2.40 in a generally weaker market.
The heavily-indebted Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica said its net profit was hit by restructuring costs linked to a voluntary redundancy scheme.
But investors were unfazed and the group's shares added 2.2 percent.
And in France, carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen said its profits nearly doubled and its takeover of Germany's Opel would create a "European champion" in the auto industry.
In Tokyo the Nikkei index ended flat as the dollar dragged on exporters but having pared sharper morning losses.
News that Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn would resign his post weighed on the carmaker, sending it down 0.6 percent.
The man credited with reinventing the once nearly bankrupt Japanese firm said he would focus on overhauling rival Mitsubishi Motors, but will stay on as chairman, while co-CEO Hiroto Saikawa will take over.
New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 20,812.71 points
London - FTSE-100: FLAT at 7,302.70
Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.2 percent at 11,975.97
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 4,905.90
EUROX STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 3,342.50
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 19,371.46 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.4 percent at 24,114.86 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,251.38 (close)
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