FTSE 100 dropped 0.5% to 8,377.95, CAC 40 shed 0.4% to 8,107.40, DAX lost 0.2% to 18,686.15, Nikkei 225 dropped 0.9% to 38,617.10, Hang Seng index shed 0.2% to 19,184.85, Shanghai Composite index was virtually unchanged at 3,158.54, the Kospi was almost unchanged at 2,723.46, S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.1% to 7,848.10, while Taiex added 1.5%

European stocks dropped in early trading and Asian markets were mostly down on Wednesday after U.S. stocks reached fresh record highs.

The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and that for the S&P 500 both dropped 0.1%.

Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.5% to 8,377.95 after the ONS announced a stronger-than-expected inflation data that dampened hopes for a rate cut in June. Inflation dropped to 2.3% in April, down from 3.2% in March. But it remained above the BoE’s 2% target.

France’s CAC 40 shed 0.4% in early trading to 8,107.40, while Germany’s DAX lost 0.2% to 18,686.15.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.9% to 38,617.10 after Japan reported that its trade deficit rose last month as increasing costs for imports outpaced an 8% increase in exports from the year before. The data were weaker than analysts had forecast.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.2% to 19,184.85, while the Shanghai Composite index was virtually unchanged at 3,158.54.

In South Korea, the Kospi was almost unchanged at 2,723.46. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.1% to 7,848.10.

Taiwan’s Taiex added 1.5% as shares in market heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. climbed 2.7%.

Markets in Thailand were shut for a holiday.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 gained 0.3% to 5,321.41 and surpassed its record set last week. The Nasdaq composite added 0.2% to 16,832.62, a day after setting its latest all-time high. The DJIA jumped 0.2% to 39,872.99 and is standing just below its high set last week.

Benchmark U.S. crude shed $1.04 to $77.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, dropped $1.25 to $81.63 a barrel.