(Updates prices throughout with U.S. market close, oil and gold

settlement)

*

S&P 500 finishes near record high as Middle East tensions

cool

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Oil rises, snapping three straight sessions of losses

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Gold mixed as geopolitical tensions ease, focus turns to

US data

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Fed's Powell testifies before Senate panel for second day

of

testimony

By Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK, June 25 (Reuters) - Global shares hovered near

record highs on Wednesday as Middle East tensions eased, with

markets focused on U.S. inflation and prospects of an interest

rate cut. Crude prices rose after snapping three straight

sessions of losses.

The benchmark S&P 500 index finished unchanged and near a record

high reached on February 19. Gains in technology and

communication services shares were offset by losses in real

estate, consumer staples and utilities stocks. The Dow lost

ground but the Nasdaq gained.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25%

to 42,982.43, the S&P 500 was flat at 6,092.16 and the

Nasdaq Composite rose 0.31% to 19,973.55.

European shares dropped 0.74%.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

finished up 0.96% overnight. MSCI's gauge of

stocks across the globe eased 0.02% to 902.84,

after hitting a record high earlier in the session.

A ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding,

reducing the risks of disruptions to the global oil trade. At a

NATO summit on Wednesday, President Donald Trump hailed the

swift end to the 12-day conflict, saying that talks next week

would seek a commitment from Iran to end its nuclear ambitions.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell resumed two days of

congressional testimony on Wednesday, appearing before the

Senate Banking Committee following scrutiny before a House panel

on Tuesday.

"It looks like we've got a bit of a tug of war as to

everything from Middle East tensions to how that's going to

impact inflation, and then you've got oil prices firming up a

little bit," said Sandy Villere, portfolio manager at Villere &

Co in New Orleans.

"It would be interesting if oil gets weaker and inflation

stays at bay and then you wrap all that into what Powell has

been saying. It feels like the market is being pretty

resilient."

CRUDE FUTURES UP

Brent crude futures settled up 0.8% to $67.68 a

barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI)

settled up 0.9% to $64.92, both contracts paring some of the 13%

losses made earlier in the week. Prices had rallied to

five-month highs after the U.S. attacked Iran's nuclear

facilities over the weekend.

Powell told the Senate panel that the Trump administration's

tariff plans may well just cause a one-time jump in prices, but

the risk of more persistent inflation is large enough for the

central bank to be careful in considering further rate cuts.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 1

basis point to 4.283%, reversing earlier gains.

The U.S. dollar dropped to its lowest since 2021 against the

euro but gained against the safe-haven Japanese yen.

The dollar strengthened 0.19% to 145.19 against the Japanese

yen and was down 0.05% to 0.80480 against the Swiss

franc, erasing earlier gains. The euro rose

0.43% at $1.1658, after hitting its highest since October 2021.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback

against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro,

fell 0.27% to 97.69.

Gold prices were mixed. Spot gold rose 0.31% to

$3,334.10 an ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.3% lower

at $3,343.1.