By Veronika Gulyas

 
TODAY'S CALENDAR 
Nothing major scheduled 
 
GLOBAL NEWS

With a strong push to accelerate growth with easy credit and state spending, China managed to eke out a 6.7% rise in economic growth for 2016.

The rate was well within leaders' target range for growth of between 6.5% and 7%. Nevertheless, it was the third year in a row Beijing posted the lowest annual growth in a quarter-century, and economists say it only got there by relying heavily on short-term measures that are likely to delay much-needed reforms to bloated state-owned companies and the country's inefficient financial system.

The push accelerated in the year's second half. Growth in the final quarter of the year was 6.8%, the fastest pace all year after three straight quarters of 6.7% growth.

Beijing is expected to double down on old growth drivers this year--including fiscal spending and the property market--to keep the economy stable in an important year of leadership change.

"The fourth quarter was still quite solid, but we see signs of downside risk," said Standard Chartered Bank economist Shuang Ding. "And reform this year will be incremental, not radical, because stability is the first priority."

Industrial output in China slowed modestly in December, pointing to a mixed picture in the world's second-largest economy.

Value-added industrial output, a rough proxy for economic growth, rose by 6.0% in December from a year earlier. The increase fell short of a median forecast of 6.1% growth by 11 economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

On a month-on-month basis, industrial production increased 0.46% in December, compared with a 0.51% rise the previous month. For the full year of 2016, industrial output grew 6.0%, compared with 6.1% on-year growth in 2015.

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said Thursday she doesn't see the U.S. economy at risk of overheating and doesn't expect growth to pick up much soon, comments suggesting the central bank is sticking to its plan of raising interest rates cautiously and gradually in the months ahead.

She said the economy remains constrained by multiple long-term forces.

"Economic growth more broadly seems unlikely to pick up markedly in the near term given the ongoing restraint from weak foreign demand," rising interest rates, an aging population and other factors, she said.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May met Thursday with the chief executives of several Wall Street banks, following further warnings by lenders that they would shift jobs out of London to continental Europe after Brexit.

Mrs. May met with J.P. Morgan Chase Chairman James Dimon, Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman in a meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to people familiar with the matter.

The executives talked with Mrs. May about implementation periods and the status of some of their decision making, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Some executives discussed how moving certain functions such as trading out of London would also mean moving compliance and other staff, the person said.

Downing Street declined to confirm whom the prime minister had met, saying the meeting with representatives of financial services companies was private.

 
IN FOCUS

The Hungarian forint has been on a weakening track against the euro amid fears over the U.K.'s Brexit plans and comments earlier in the week from a Hungarian central banker regarding the possibility of further unconventional monetary easing measures.

The forint eased above HUF308 against the euro Thursday and further movements are eyed ahead of the central bank's policy meeting on Tuesday. The Monetary Policy Council is expected to keep its benchmark rate on hold at 0.9%.

 
FOREX 
 
EUR/CZK 
0350 GMT 27.010-40 
Previous 27.008-38 
%Chg +0.01 
 
EUR/HUF 
0350 GMT 308.52-92 
Previous 308.54-94 
%Chg -0.01 
 
EUR/PLN 
0350 GMT 4.3732-50 
Previous 4.3724-42 
%Chg +0.02 
 
FIXED INCOME 
 
Hungary 
          Thu     Wed 
3-yrs     0.87%   0.89% 
5-yrs     1.94%   1.94% 
10-yrs    3.46%   3.45% 
 
Poland 
          Thu     Wed 
3-yrs     1.98%   1.97% 
5-yrs     2.92%   2.86% 
10-yrs    3.68%   3.62% 
 
Czech Republic 
          Thu     Wed 
3-yrs     -0.77%  -0.83% 
5-yrs     -0.38%  -0.40% 
10-yrs     0.35%   0.32% 
 
 
STOCKS (Closing) 
 
WIG 20 
2015.47 +0.5% 
 
BUX 
32709.08 -0.4% 
 
PX 50 
928.71 +0.3%

Write to Veronika Gulyas at veronika.gulyas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 19, 2017 23:16 ET (04:16 GMT)

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