Stock markets dip, dollar rises before rate calls

European and US stock markets slid while the dollar mostly firmed Tuesday as focus turned to interest-rate decisions due this week in the United States and the eurozone.

Following a long holiday weekend for markets across Europe and Asia, trading resumed to news that annual inflation in the eurozone edged up to seven per cent in April after five months of decline.

Consumer prices rose from a rate of 6.9 per cent in March, which could further encourage the European Central Bank to raise interest rates once more on Thursday, according to analysts.

"Strategists are betting that we will see a slight pullback in the key core inflation data, but this has proven a stickier indicator in the eurozone than in the US and market hopes have been disappointed before," noted Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at financial services firm Ebury.

Wall Street opened lower, with the Dow shedding 0.4 per cent.

In Europe, London, Frankfurt and Paris were all lower in afternoon trading.

"Investors appear to be treading carefully ahead of some key interest rate announcements this week, most notably the Fed on Wednesday but also the ECB one day later," said market analyst Craig Erlam at Oanda trading group.

Australia's central bank on Tuesday delivered a surprise interest rate hike to 11-year high, dashing hopes it would hold them steady as inflation shows signs of slowing.

Adding to investor uncertainty were fears about the banking sector after another US regional lender went under.

Regulators on Monday announced the seizure of First Republic and that it had been sold to JPMorgan Chase, making it the second biggest bank by assets to collapse in US history.

The takeover of First Republic came after the collapse of three US midsized lenders in March, including Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank -- which rattled markets and raised contagion worries.

SVB's failure came after it took on too much interest rate risk, among other issues.

Nevertheless, the US central bank is widely expected to raise its benchmark lending rate for a tenth and possibly final time in the current cycle -- by another quarter-point. The ECB is seen as making a quarter or half-point hike.

Elsewhere, data showed that Hong Kong's economy grew in the first quarter, ending a disastrous year-long spell during which the finance hub was effectively closed for business owing to pandemic restrictions.

Oil prices fell further, with the main international contract, Brent North Sea, under $80 per barrel.

"The post-OEPC+ gains have now been wiped out which suggests traders are now of the belief that the economic outlook has deteriorated to the extent that the output cut won't create the deficit that was feared when some were calling for $100 oil," said Oanda's Erlam.

Multiple members of the OPEC+ exporters' alliance unexpectedly slashed production by a total of more than one million barrels per day at the beginning of April. Brent jumped back above $80 per barrel, but never made it to $90.