Equities weaken after Dow breaks 22,000; dollar soft

World stock markets fell on Wednesday even as Wall Street's key Dow Jones Industrial Average broke the 22,000 barrier on strength in Apple shares, while the US dollar fell to near 15-month lows on doubts about another rate hike this year.

Shares of Apple, the largest US company by market capitalization, surged 4.9% to a record high of $159.75 in the wake of its earnings, helping lift the Dow above the key 22,000 mark.

Apple reported better-than-expected iPhone sales, revenue and earnings per share and signalled its upcoming 10th-anniversary phone is on schedule.

But Apple's gains were not enough to prop up the broader US stock indexes, with the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq both lower.

"Round numbers are a focal point, they are kind of arbitrary but people seem to focus and it can affect sentiment," said Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

"If there's going to be something that gives the market more fuel it has to come from fundamentals. Excitement about a round number can only carry it so far."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40.21 points, or 0.18%, to 22,004.13, the S&P 500 lost 4.96 points, or 0.20%, to 2,471.39 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 29.78 points, or 0.47%, to 6,333.16.
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