Sawt Falasteen - Stock markets mostly fall as China data disappoints

Oil prices also slid on concerns that China's weakening economy will mean lower demand from the world's top importer of the fossil fuel.

While traders reacted to economic storm clouds, a typhoon forced the closure of the Hong Kong stock market.

Equities last week surged as news that US inflation slowed more than forecast fanned hopes that the Federal Reserve would soon end its campaign of tightening borrowing costs.

"Traders want to see what unfolds with market pricing this week knowing that stocks have been on a tear," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

Wall Street open mixed with the Dow shedding less than a tenth of a percent, while the broader S&P 500 edged higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.3 percent.

European stocks were lower across the board in afternoon trading following a mostly lower Asian session.

The euro reached $1.1252, the highest level since February 2022 on expectations of an end soon to the Federal Reserve's tightening, while the yen and sterling have also pushed to multi-month highs in recent sessions.

Last week's stock market advances were also bolstered by pledges from Beijing to introduce stimulus measures for the struggling Chinese economy.

However, "investors have been greeted by a dismal Chinese data dump to start the week", said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

Data showed China's recovery after lifting Covid restrictions was faltering as the economy grew by 6.3 percent in the second quarter, much lower than expected by analysts surveyed by AFP.

The National Bureau of Statistics added that youth unemployment hit a record 21.3 percent in June and retail sales also missed estimates, adding to months of data highlighting softness in the world's number-two economy.

"China's recovery is going from bad to worse," said Harry Murphy Cruise at Moody's Analytics.

"After a sugar injection in the opening months of 2023 (following the lifting of zero-Covid measures), the pandemic hangover is plaguing China's recovery."

The readings will further stoke calls for authorities to announce more measures to fire up growth, having cut interest rates last month.

Investors will also keep a close eye on fresh company results, with Bank of America, Tesla, Netflix and EasyJet among those reporting this week.

The quarterly earnings reporting season got off to a strong start last week with JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo banks beating expectations.

In the commodities market, wheat and corn futures wobbled after Russia said that it was exiting a major agreement allowing Ukraine grain exports.

Wheat futures rose as much as 4.2 percent and corn peaked at 2.5 percent following the announcement but prices fell into the red later in the day.

Over the course of the last year, the Black Sea Grain Initiative has enabled the export in cargo of more than 32 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain, helping avoid shortages on markets and bring prices down after they spiked after the war broke out.

- Key figures around 1330 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 34,499.74 points

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,411.81

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 16,028.61

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.2 percent at 7,288.17

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.1 percent at 4,351.99

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,209.63 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed because of storm

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1221 from $1.1230 on Friday

Dollar/yen: UP at 139.09 yen from 138.82 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3068 from $1.3091

Euro/pound: UP at 85.87 pence from 85.76 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $74.56 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $78.97 per barrel

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D.Qudsi--SF-PST