Chinese data nudges world stocks down as Asian health is mulled
Surveys suggest slower Chinese factory growth in April will have slowed, while the yen rallies to a three-week high
London — European equity markets nudged down on Tuesday as weak Chinese business surveys dampened appetite for risk, while investors braced for a spate of data on the region’s economic health. Bourses in Britain, France and Germany followed Asian peers into the red after the surveys on China manufacturing missed forecasts — another sign that Beijing’s efforts to spur growth in the world’s second biggest economy had yet to bear fruit. Both official and private business surveys suggested slower Chinese factory growth this month, dashing hopes for a steady reading or even a faster expansion. Data also showed a slower expansion in its services sector. Those figures underscored questions over prospects for the Chinese economy, with investors across the world already on edge over growing signs of a two-speed global economy where a robust US outpaces its peers. The Euro Stoxx 600 was off 0.2%, with British shares down 0.2% and bourses in Germany and France down 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively....
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