Gold prices and bitcoin hit all-time highs Tuesday but stock markets mostly fell as investors locked in some profits while they waited fresh signals about the direction of interest rates.

In midday trading in New York, gold was at $2,135.70 per ounce, after early trading around $2,140 an ounce. That's above its prior peak of $2,135.39 struck in early December.

Gold, whose twin drivers are jewellery and investment buying, has now gained about 15 percent in value since the same stage last year.

"Concerns surrounding global economic prospects, geopolitical tensions, and shifting expectations towards earlier interest rate cuts have fuelled increased demand for the precious metal, leading to its upward price trajectory," said ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista.

Market expectations that the Fed could move more quicky than previously thought to lower borrowing costs in order to stimulate economic activity has put an end to a recent dollar rally and boosted gold.

Among digital assets, bitcoin hit a record high above $69,000, beating a record $68,991 struck in November 2021, buoyed by the world's biggest cryptocurrency becoming more accessible for trading amid tight supplies. In a day of volatile trading, it was last trading at $65,330. 

Wall Street's main indexes were all lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down more than one percent, after also closing in the red on Monday.

"Losses in mega cap stocks have pressured the market, along with a growing sense that stocks are due for some consolidation after the recent runup that brought the major indices to all-time highs," said Briefing.com.

Tesla slumped five percent after reporting disappointing sales in China and after its factory near Berlin was hit by an act of sabotage, halting production. 

Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will take questions from a House panel, with market participants paying close attention to gauge when the US central bank might start cutting rates. 

Most analysts expect highly-anticipated Fed rate cuts to start later this year, as officials have voiced caution about trimming too soon while they await further inflation data.

The European Central Bank is expected to keep rates steady when it meets Thursday, and the US reports non-farm payrolls Friday.

"Labor-market data will be centre-stage for markets this week," said Brock Weimer, an analyst at Edward Jones. "Our view is that current labour-market conditions could ease, however, we don’t foresee a sharp rise in unemployment."

In Europe, Paris and Frankfurt closed slightly lower while London was little changed. 

German chemicals giant Bayer fell 7.6% after it revealed that it plunged deep into the red in 2023, weighed down by woes related to its glyphosate-based weedkillers.

On the eve of a key UK budget update, London won a slight boost from news that network testing firm Spirent Communications agreed to a £1-billion ($1.3-billion) takeover from US communications equipment maker Viavi. Spirent rose 63 percent. 

Key figures around 1745 GMT

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 38,696.53 points

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.9 percent at 5,084.50 

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.8 percent at 15,945.05 

London - FTSE 100: UP LESS THAN 0.1 percent at 7,646.16 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,932.82 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 17,698.40 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 4,893.07 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 40,097.63 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.6 percent at 16,162.64 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,047.79 (close)

Euro/dollar: FLAT at $1.0859 

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 150.15 yen from 150.51 yen

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2708 from $1.2691

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.47 pence from 85.54 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $82.46 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $78.49 per barrel