GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar gains, equity rally stalls as caution returns

On Wall Street, the Dow Industrials tried rebound for much of the session but closed essentially flat. The S&P 500 fell 0.72% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.71%. Healthcare and consumer staples were the only two of the 11 S&P sectors to gain.MSCI's all-country world index closed down 0.60% and the broad STOXX Europe 600 index fell 0.08%, but emerging markets stocks rose 0.54%.

NEW YORK: World stock markets stalled at two-week highs and oil prices fell on Thursday as increased restrictions in parts of the world to contain the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant tempered investor optimism about the economic recovery.

European shares closed lower after opening higher, while stocks on Wall Street were mostly in the red and Japan's blue-chip Nikkei stock index slipped almost half a percent.