By Ben St. Clair 

Global markets mostly gained Tuesday as concerns over the Turkish lira appeared to ease, though weak economic data weighed down Chinese and Hong Kong stocks.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4% in morning trading with gains from the food-and-beverage and personal-and-household-goods sectors leading the index higher. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were set to open 0.4% higher, futures markets showed.

Bank stocks, which had been under pressure amid concerns over their exposure to Turkey, were up 0.4%.

Adding to optimism in Europe, data Tuesday showed the German economy expanded slightly faster than expected in the second quarter, with GDP growing at a quarterly rate of 0.5%, or 1.8% in annualized terms.

Japan's Nikkei rose 2.3%, more than retracing Monday's losses, and South Korea's Kospi was up 0.5%.

Chinese markets were an exception to the generally buoyant mood after data showed spending on factory machinery, public works projects and other fixed-asset investments in China's nonrural areas slowed to a near two-decade low in the January to July period. Retail sales and value-added industrial output also fell below expectations.

The Shanghai Composite Index was 0.2% lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.7%.

But China's infrastructure investment is expected to stabilize and pick up in the second half of the year, said a spokesperson with the country's statistics bureau on Tuesday. Chinese leaders have vowed to speed up investment approvals.

In currencies, the Turkish lira rose 5.5% to 6.5250 against the dollar after selling Monday that saw the embattled Turkish currency fall as much as 10%. On Monday the country's central bank introduced measures to boost liquidity in the market, but investors remain concerned that the bank isn't independent from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has blamed the U.S. and social media for the country's economic troubles.

The WSJ Dollar Index was down 0.2%. The index measures the U.S. currency against a basket of 16 others.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee touched all-time lows against the dollar before rebounding slightly, in a sign that investors are fleeing emerging-market currencies.

Elsewhere, yields on 10-year U.S. Treasurys rose to 2.898% from 2.877% Monday. Yields move inversely to prices.

In commodities Brent crude, the global benchmark rose 0.8% to $73.23 a barrel, and gold was up 0.3% to $1,202 an ounce.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 14, 2018 04:59 ET (08:59 GMT)

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