GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares hover near record highs, crude prices gain

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 .DJI fell 0.25% to 42,982.43, the S&P 500 .SPX was flat at 6,092.16 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 0.31% to 19,973.55.

European shares .STOXX dropped 0.74%.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS finished up 0.96% overnight. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS 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 LCOc1 settled up 0.8% to $67.68 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) CLc1 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 US10YT=RR 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 JPY=EBS and was down 0.05% to 0.80480 against the Swiss franc CHF=EBS, erasing earlier gains. The euro EUR= rose 0.43% at $1.1658, after hitting its highest since October 2021.

The dollar index =USD, 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 XAU= rose 0.31% to $3,334.10 an ounce. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled 0.3% lower at $3,343.1.