LONDON, SYDNEY—Global stock markets extended a New Year slide on Wednesday, while the dollar stayed strong, as market optimism about early U.S. interest rate cuts ebbed and the latest escalation of hostilities in the Middle East weighed on sentiment. MSCI’s broad index of world equities was 0.2 percent lower, following a 0.8 percent fall on Tuesday, a weak start to 2024 that may herald the end of the blistering gains for stocks and bonds that began late last year. Europe’s STOXX 600 share index dipped 0.1 percent and Asia Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.3 percent. Caution was dominating markets ahead of the release of minutes…
