NEW YORK, Feb 29 — Wall Street’s main stock indices dipped Wednesday as investors locked in profits ahead of a key US inflation measurement while cryptocurrency bitcoin topped US$60,000.

"It looks as if some investors have decided to use this week’s pause in the equity market rally to take money off the table,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.

In New York, all the main indexes retreated, although losses on both the Dow and S&P 500 were modest.

"This negative leaning is unlikely to cause any undue concern,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. "Rather, it is apt to be viewed as a normal course of action for a market that has been on a tear.”

In Europe, London fell 0.8 per cent, while Paris edged higher and Frankfurt added 0.3 per cent to set a new closing record.

London was dragged lower by St James’ Place, whose stock ended the day down 18.6 per cent after the wealth manager slashed its shareholder dividend and set aside £426 million (US$538 million) for potential client refunds.

Vodafone’s shares initially rose after the British mobile phone giant revealed it was in advanced talks to sell its Italian division to Swisscom for €8 billion (US$8.7 billion), but ended down 0.2 per cent in volatile trading.

Paris was held back by a sharp drop by retailer Casino after it reported massive losses from French supermarkets it is in the process of selling.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency bitcoin burst through US$60,000 thanks to feverish demand. The all-time high of US$68,991 was set in November 2021.

Bitcoin has been buoyed by US moves toward creating exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to track the price of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, which would expand its potential investor pool by allowing the public to place bets without directly purchasing the digital unit.

Many traders are on hold awaiting the Thursday release of the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index, the Fed’s most watched inflation indicator.

The world’s biggest economy will also report consumer and jobless figures.

Expectations for cuts to US interest rates have gradually shifted to later this year, as inflation data has come in hot and Fed policymakers have indicated they need to see more signs that inflation is moving towards their 2 per cent goal.

Eurozone inflation figures are slated for release on Friday.

Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said investors were being cautious ahead of these figures.

"These data points are crucial for gaining insights into the potential monetary policy directions of central banks,” he said.

Key figures around 2130 GMT

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 per cent at 38,949.02 (close)

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 per cent at 5,069.76 (close)

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.6 per cent at 15,947.74 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.8 per cent at 7,624.98 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 per cent at 7,954.39 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.3 per cent at 17,601.22 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN less than 0.1 per cent at 4,883.77 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 per cent at 39,208.03 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.5 per cent at 16,536.85 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.9 per cent at 2,957.85 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at US$1.0840 from US$1.0844 on Tuesday

Dollar/yen: UP at ¥150.70 from ¥150.51

Pound/dollar: DOWN at US$1.2661 from US$1.2685

Euro/pound: UP at 85.60 pence from 85.54 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN less than 0.1 per cent at US$83.68 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 per cent at US$78.54 per barrel

— AFP