(Adds closing U.S. prices)

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Fed still is focus as market pauses ahead of CPI data

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European stocks hit record high, Wall Street ends mixed

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Dollar gains on U.S. exceptionalism trade

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Oil edges up after U.S. stockpiles fell last week

By Herbert Lash and Harry Robertson

NEW YORK/LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - Global equity markets

mostly faltered on Wednesday as investors await fresh inflation

data to better assess the likelihood of Federal Reserve interest

rate cuts, while the dollar edged higher on expectations of U.S.

economic out-performance.

European stocks rose to a record high, boosted by company

earnings, but stocks on Wall Street slid as a downbeat forecast

from Uber ( UBER ) knocked its shares down 5.7% and made the

ride-hailing firm one of the biggest decliners on the S&P 500.

The yen weakened for a third day and kept investors wary of

intervention from Japanese authorities, while crude oil edged up

from near two-month lows. In Europe, the Swedish crown was under

pressure after the central bank cut rates as expected and said

two more cuts were likely this year if inflation remained mild.

The big concern among traders and investors is whether

inflation is on course to reach the U.S. central bank's 2%

target and when Fed Chair Jerome Powell might cut rates.

Fed Boston President Susan Collins said the U.S. economy

needs to cool off as an avenue toward getting inflation back to

the central bank's 2% target.

"The market is still very much waiting for the CPI report

next Wednesday. We're basically stuck in a bit of a range here

until we get data," said Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S. rates

strategy at TD Securities in New York.

"Investors are still very cautious at this point. They don't

want to over extrapolate from one data point or a couple of

developments," he said.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe

fell 0.18%, while Europe's pan-regional STOXX 600 index

rose 0.34% to a record close. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones

Industrial Average rose 0.44%, the S&P 500 closed

unchanged and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.18%.

Global stocks fell sharply in April as strong U.S. economic

data caused investors to rein in their bets on rate cuts from

the Fed and, by extension, other major central banks this year.

Stocks, however, have rallied in May, partly encouraged by

last week's nonfarm payrolls, which showed a cooling in the hot

U.S. labor market but remained stronger than pre-pandemic data.

"Investors continue to underestimate or miscalculate

interest rate cuts," said Michael Arone, chief investment

strategist at the U.S. SPDR business at State Street Global

Advisors in Boston.

However, if the economy expands with inflation anchored and

the labor market reasonably strong, "that makes for a pretty

good backdrop for stocks," he said. "So unless some of those

ingredients change, the markets will continue to do OK."

In currency markets, the yen dropped 0.61% to 155.64 per

dollar even after Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda

said the central bank may take monetary policy action if

currency falls affect prices significantly.

Japan has intervened to boost the currency from its lowest

level in 34 years in recent days, according to traders and

analysts, keeping the market alert for further swings.

The dollar index, which tracks the currency against

six peers, rose 0.13% to 105.55 and was less than 1% below a

5-1/2 month high touched in April. The euro was down

0.09% at $1.0742.

U.S. Treasury yields have fallen in recent days

as traders have moved to price back in two rate cuts from the

Fed this year, having seen one as most likely in the middle of

April. The 10-year yield, which moves inversely to its price,

rose 3.7 basis points to 4.498%.

Oil prices edged higher after U.S. oil storage data showed a

draw in crude stockpiles as refiners ramped up output ahead of

the summer driving season.

U.S. crude rose 61 cents to settle at $78.99 a barrel

and Brent settled up 42 cents at $83.58 per barrel.

Gold steadied as while investors awaited data for clues on

potential Fed rate cuts, though a slight uptick in the dollar

limited any upside.

U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled 0.1%

lower at $2,322.30 per ounce.

Bitcoin fell 1.31% to $62,142.09.