World Stocks Near 15-Month High: China Data Weighs On Markets

London
World shares were steady near their recent 15-month highs and the dollar held close to a one-year low on Tuesday as investors paused to take stock of weak economic data from China and waited for U.S. retail sales data and earnings.
Asian stocks fell earlier in the session as markets caught up with growth data from Monday showing the post-pandemic bounce in China’s economy was over. Deutsche Bank said it was lowering its forecast for China’s economic growth this year, following similar moves on Monday by J.P.Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. At 0806 GMT, the MSCI World Equity index was little changed at 697.27, near the 698.39 reached on Friday, which was the highest since April 2022.
China is super important to Europe, said Fiona Cincotta, senior markets analyst. There are a lot of concerns about what weakness in China could mean for Germany and the German economy and I think we’re seeing that being played on in the DAX, which is struggling to push higher. Investors were waiting for U.S. retail sales and industrial production figures later in the session, which could give indications about the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. The Fed, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan hold policy meetings next week.
Any sense that the Federal Reserve has reached peak interest rates or any sense that they’re turning less hawkish or more dovish will be that injection that stocks need to take the next leg higher, Cincotta said.