Wall Street stocks finished mixed on Wednesday after US data gave a reassuring picture on the economy while lofty bond yields weighed on sentiment.

The US Commerce Department revised upwards its estimate for Q2 GDP growth in the world's largest economy by 0.7 percentage points to 2.2 percent, with analysts pointing to the artificial intelligence investment boom as supporting of growth.

Another economic release showed the US Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge stood at 3.4 percent year-on-year in August, unchanged from the month before, while private payroll firm ADP showed better than expected job growth in September.

But long-term bond yields remained elevated, adding to investor anxiety.

Higher yields "likely reflect stronger economic growth expectations, partly driven by the AI boom, which is fuelling record capital spending and should deliver significant productivity gains over time," said CFRA Research's Arun Sundaram.

"The question investors are asking is whether higher yields will break the equity market."

Both the Dow and S&P 500 retreated, while the Nasdaq advanced.

Meanwhile, Europe's main stock markets closed lower after France, Germany and Italy revealed that prices in their countries were surging, particularly at the petrol pumps.

"This morning's economic releases from the eurozone have done little to improve the outlook, with a combination of rising inflation and weakening sentiment reinforcing concerns about stagflation," said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

London's FTSE 100 also ended the day lower after an earlier rally following data showing the UK economy grew more than initially estimated in the second quarter.

Oil prices advanced on Wednesday on the lack of movement on US-Iran negotiations towards resolving the impasse over the Strait of Hormuz.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent, to 7,652, the Dow fell 0.9 percent, to 50,906, while the Nasdaq rose 0.2 percent, to 26,861. (AFP)



Edited by Robert Kemp