By Lawrence Delevingne and Stefano Rebaudo
Oct 7 (Reuters) - Global stocks and the euro pulled back on Wednesday as oil prices held near $100 a barrel amid renewed Middle East tensions, while uncertainty about US Federal Reserve rate policy and France’s fiscal condition weighed on overall sentiment.
The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq slid about 0.2%, a day after both hit record highs.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX) index ended 1% lower, giving up most of the gains from the last three sessions. Banks took a beating once again, down 3.3%. MSCI’s main world stocks index fell 0.6%.
Oil prices settled lower on Wednesday following a choppy session after the International Energy Agency agreed to speed up a release of oil stocks and prioritize diesel in a bid to curb record-high fuel prices as the Iran war squeezes global supplies. Brent crude futures (LCOc1) settled down 38 cents, or 0.38%, at $100.20 a barrel.
The direction of interest rates also remained in focus.
Minutes released on Wednesday showed Federal Reserve policymakers were divided last month over the rationale for raising interest rates. They showed that "some participants" saw a hike as needed to keep the impact of energy and other price shocks at bay, but a more hawkish core viewed it as necessary to guard against emerging demand-driven inflation.
Russ Brownback, BlackRock’s deputy chief investment officer of global fixed income, said in a note that the latest rate increase did not foretell a predetermined tightening cycle.
