Global Stocks Gain as China's Economy Shows Gains
December 16 2019 - 5:33AM
Dow Jones News
By Avantika Chilkoti
Global stocks started the week higher as economic data signaled
an improvement in the Chinese economy, adding to optimism that some
of the biggest risks to markets are clearing.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1%
on Monday, while the Stoxx Europe 600 index gained almost 1%. In
Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.6%.
Fresh data showed that Chinese economic activity, including
factory production and consumer spending, improved in November. The
better-than-expected results for industrial production and retail
sales may help alleviate investors' concerns about growth in the
world's second-largest economy.
Markets were buoyed last week as some of the major risks facing
global economic growth--the U.S.-China trade spat, changes to the
North American Free Trade Agreement and uncertainty around Brexit
-- appeared to ease. On Friday, the U.S. reached a truce with China
after securing a pledge from Beijing to boost purchases of
agricultural products, bringing to a temporary halt to tensions
that have rocked markets for most of this year.
Over in the U.K., the FTSE 100 index, which tracks the biggest
companies in the country, rose 1.7%. The gauge is extending gains
posted last week following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's
resounding majority in the general elections. The result, analysts
said, paves the way for the U.K. to leave the bloc at the end of
next month, clearing some of the political uncertainty that has
hung over the economy since the 2016 Brexit referendum. The pound
was up largely flat on the dollar.
Within European equities, shares in Electrolux dropped over 10%
after the Swedish appliance maker announced that a reorganization
of its manufacturing in the U.S. will hit fourth-quarter operating
income.
Write to Avantika Chilkoti at Avantika.Chilkoti@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 16, 2019 05:18 ET (10:18 GMT)
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