Market Buzz: The China syndrome

Russian equities are expected to react sharply to forthcoming Chinese economic data, and investors are also eying an EU summit that will take place later this week.

Russian markets closed lower Friday with resource shares among the biggest losers. The MICEX fell 1.2% and the RTS shed 2.4%. European stocks fell Friday amid investor worries about the slowdown in global economic growth, with strong US consumer sentiment data failed to boost sentiment. The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 0.5%. Germany’s DAX 30 shed 0.7% and the French CAC 40 slid 0.7% on losses by oil giant Total.US stocks on Friday traded nearly flat, despite an unexpected rise in the US consumer confidence index in October. A positive earnings report from JPMorgan Chase buoyed investors, but concerns over Europe hampered that growth. The S&P 500 lost 0.3%, the Dow Jones traded flat and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2%.Asian stocks headed south Monday as Chinese data painted a mixed picture of the country’s economic situation. Over the weekend, China’s trade surplus for September and money supply data exceeded economists’ expectations, while producer prices dropped 3.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.1% and the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2% and Australian stocks traded flat. Japan’s Nikkei bucked the trend and gained 0.7%.