Global stocks sluggish amid drop in Chinese growth

A woman walks past a sign reading “Prosperity” in Chinese and English in Beijing

World stocks lacked momentum yesterday after a report showed China’s economy slowed in the third quarter, but not as much as some were fearing.
KEEPING SCORE: France’s CAC 40 added 0.1 percent to 4,707.42 and Germany’s DAX rose 0.6 percent to 10,167.34. Britain’s FTSE 100 inched down 0.2 percent to 6,364.15. U.S. shares were set for a weak open, with Dow and S&P 500 futures both down 0.2 percent.
CHINA GROWTH: Data released yesterday showed that China’s economic growth decelerated to 6.9 percent in the three months ended in September. Growth of 6.8 percent had been forecast by analysts.
ANALYST VIEW: “Although growth may be holding up in national headline figures, north and northeast China are basically having a regional recession with their heavy exposure to commodities and over-capacity secondary industries,” Angus Nicholson, analyst at IG, in a market commentary. “How China lessens some of the strain they are suffering is still an open question for the government.”
ASIA’S DAY: Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9 percent to 18,131.23 and China’s Shanghai Composite Index trimmed early gains to end little changed, losing 0.1 percent to 3,386.70. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was stable, ending up 0.04 percent at 23,075.61 and South Korea’s Kopsi was flat at 2,030.27. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.03 percent to 5,269.70. Other regional benchmarks were mixed, higher in Taiwan and Indonesia, but lower in Thailand and Singapore.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude slipped 45 cents to $46.81 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 88 cents to close at $47.26 in New York on Friday.
CURRENCIES: The dollar edged up to 119.46 yen from 119.43 yen on Friday. The euro fell to $1.1327 from $1.1348. Yuri Kageyama, Business Writer, Tokyo, AP