* S&P 500 touches 5-week low after sinking 1.2 pct Tuesday
* FTSEurofirst 300 hits roughly 2-week low
* Gold touches three-week peak as investors ditch equities
* Bonds gain as concerns about Washington gridlock grow
* Oil prices lowest since Nov on expanding U.S. inventories (Updates to close of European markets)
By Sam Forgione
NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - Most U.S. and European share indexes fell or were little changed on Wednesday as concerns over potential delays to President Donald Trump's pro-growth policies again unnerved investors, while safe-haven gold, U.S. Treasuries, and the yen rallied.
The benchmark U.S. S&P 500 stock index briefly hit its lowest level in five weeks, while the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares hit a roughly two-week low as investors increasingly worried about whether Trump would be able to push ahead with his pro-growth policies. on Tuesday tried to rally Republican lawmakers behind a plan to dismantle Obamacare, his first major legislation since assuming office in January. Some investors fear that if the healthcare reform act runs into trouble or takes longer than expected to pass, then Trump's tax reform policies may face setbacks. continued to prevail a day after the S&P 500 closed down 1.2 percent in its worst daily performance since Oct. 11. CBOE's VIX index .VIX , known as the "fear gauge", briefly topped 13 for the first time since mid-January on Wednesday, but was last down 1 percent at 12.31. and European shares were little affected by an attack in London near the British parliament which left several people injured and, according to Sky News, two people dead. markets were reminded yesterday the 'Trump trade' is not a one-way trade and there's room for disappointment as actions on tax cuts and infrastructure spending might not materialize as quickly as we want," said Anastasia Amoroso, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Houston.
"The pronounced fall in yields across the world is not helping market sentiment at the moment either."
MSCI's all-country world equity index .MIWD00000PUS was last down 1.33 points, or 0.3 percent, at 446.72.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was last down 34.5 points, or 0.17 percent, at 20,633.51. The S&P 500 .SPX was up 1.08 points, or 0.05 percent, at 2,345.1. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 12.26 points, or 0.21 percent, at 5,806.08. broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 closed down 0.37 percent, at 1,475.46.
The cautious mood stoked demand for gold, U.S. government debt, and the Japanese yen, with spot gold prices touching a three-week high of $1,250.51 an ounce XAU= and the dollar hitting a four-month low against the yen of 110.76 yen JPY= . on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR hit a more than three-week low of 2.375 percent as their prices rallied. Brent crude oil prices fell to a nearly four-month low of $49.71 a barrel LCOc1 and U.S. crude prices CLc1 hit their own nearly four-month trough of $47.01 a barrel after data showed U.S. crude inventories rising faster than expected, piling pressure on OPEC to extend output cuts beyond June. dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was last down 0.2 percent at 99.600 after hitting a nearly seven-week low of 99.563 earlier. are losing confidence in a swift moving set of congressional reform," said Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets in New York.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World FX rates in 2017
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Global assets in 2017
http://reut.rs/1WAiOSC Global currencies vs. dollar
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Global bonds dashboard
http://tmsnrt.rs/2fPTds0 ANALYST VIEWS-U.S. markets wait to see if Republicans can deliver