· The U.S. financial markets are closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
· European stocks closed lower on Monday, after fresh data from China showed its economy grew at its slowest pace since 1990.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally sank 0.26 percent, with most sectors and major bourses in the red.
Market players monitored news of slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy. Official data published Monday said China’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018 grew 6.6 percent from the previous year, in line with analyst expectations but at its most sluggish rate in almost three decades.
It’s the latest sign of weakness in the Chinese economy, and comes at a critical time in Beijing’s trade battle with the United States. The two countries have been locked in a tense sparring of tariffs since the start of last year, but are currently trying to prevent any further escalation over the course of a 90-day truce.
· Stocks in Asia traded lower on Tuesday morning amid concerns about the global outlook, after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its world economic forecast on Monday.
In Japan, both the Nikkei 225 and Topix index fell 0.18 percent and 0.22 percent respectively. The moves upward came as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing, the company behind the Uniqlo chain of apparel stores, slipped about 0.5 percent.
South Korea’s Kospi was largely flat despite the country’s economic growth for the fourth quarter of 2018 coming in above expectations.
· The International Monetary Fund reduced its estimate for global growth on Monday, cautioning that the growth momentum seen in recent years is slowing.
The IMF now projects a 3.5 percent growth rate worldwide for 2019 and 3.6 percent for 2020. These are 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points below its last forecasts in October — making it the second downturn revision in three months.
Reference: CNBC
Thai
Eng