LONDON – World shares dipped on Friday as investors awaited progress towards more US fiscal stimulus, while the dollar was set for a weekly loss and cryptocurrency Bitcoin hit a record high.

European shares fell at the start of trading, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index down 0.2 percent on the day. Germany’s DAX was down 0.7 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.35 percent and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.3 percent.

Italy’s FTSEMIB index fell 0.8 percent on the day, with the country’s bond yields were near record lows.

Markets in China and most of Southeast Asia are closed on Friday for the Lunar New Year. China’s stock and bond markets, foreign exchange and commodity futures markets are closed through Feb 17 for the holiday.

Futures for the S&P 500 declined 0.12 percent.

MSCI’s All Country World index, which tracks stocks across 49 countries, fell 0.15 percent on the day, shy of record highs reached earlier this week.

Investors weighed some tepid economic data against increasing COVID-19 vaccinations and the prospect that more government spending and continued cheap money from central banks will drive higher growth and, eventually, inflation.

Investors will have to follow a “spike train”, monitoring hospitalizations, stimulus, inflation, and volatility, said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, in his monthly letter to clients.

“Overall, we retain a favorable view of markets over our tactical investment horizon,” he said. “While the `spike train’ may lead to volatility, we don’t think it will derail the bull market.”

Earlier, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.2 percent, trading just shy of a record high reached in the previous session. Australian stocks lost 0.63 percent. Shares in Tokyo fell 0.14 percent, pulling back from 30-year highs.

On Wall Street on Thursday, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.02 percent.

US weekly unemployment claims fell less than expected and core consumer prices rose at a slower pace, which caused some traders to temper their optimism about the economic outlook.

Bitcoin reached a record high of US$49,000 before erasing gains.

BNY Mellon’s announcement that it would help clients hold, transfer and issue digital assets came just days after Elon Musk’s Tesla said it had bought US$1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency and would accept it as a form of payment for its cars.

Spot gold fell 0.5 percent to US$1,816.91 per ounce. US gold futures fell 0.7 percent to US$1,813.6. Gold prices are still on track for their best week in three amid broad dollar selling.

The dollar index rose 0.25 percent on Friday but was still on course for a 0.6 percent weekly decline.

Soft demand at an auction of US$27 billion of new 30-year Treasuries on Thursday rattled bond investors.

The yield on 10-year US Treasuries fell to 1.1532 percent. The 30-year yield initially rose but then fell back to 1.9370 percent.

Brent crude fell 1.05 percent to US$60.50 a barrel, having dropped half a percent the previous session. US oil fell 1.2 percent to US$57.54 a barrel, after falling by 0.8 percent on Thursday.

OPEC cut its demand forecast and the International Energy Agency said the market was still over-supplied, which cast a gloom over energy markets.