GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks dip on China worries, France warning
* China growth data, French rating threat weigh* Government bonds, dollar riseLONDON/NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - World stocks dipped on
Tuesday and government bonds rose as slower-than-expected
Chinese growth and a credit warning on France added to a
cautious outlook for investors.The warning compounded investor jitters already unsettled
this week by comments from Germany’s finance minister, who said
he saw no imminent definitive solution on the euro zone debt
crisis.The MSCI world equity index was down 0.8
percent, although the world index is still up more than 11
percent after hitting a 15-month low earlier this month.U.S. stocks opened little changed, with investors eyeing
earnings from Apple later in the day. European stocks dipped 0.2 percent while emerging stocks
lost 2.3 percent.”Growth concerns in China along with renewed euro debt
concerns are bringing some hesitation into” the market, said
Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lek Securities in
New York.China’s annual gross domestic product growth eased to 9.1
percent in July-September, slightly below forecasts of 9.2
percent, indicating the world’s second-largest economy expanded
at its slowest pace since the second quarter of 2009.Moody’s cautioned it may slap a negative outlook on
France’s Aaa credit rating in the next three months if costs
from helping to bail out banks and other euro zone members
stretch its budget too thin.Optimism over a key European Union summit on Oct. 23 waned
after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday
that even though European governments would adopt a five-point
platform to address the crisis, a definitive solution would not
be reached at the summit.U.S. Treasuries edged higher, pushing benchmark yields to
their lowest in two weeks.Benchmark 10-year Treasury prices rose 5/32 in
price to yield 2.14 percent, from 2.18 percent late on Monday.
Yields fell as low as 2.08 percent, their lowest since Oct 7.The French/German 10-year government bond yield spread widened to a euro era record of 101 basis points.
French debt also underperformed its triple-A rated peer the
Netherlands.Brent crude oil prices were lower, while the dollar
gained 0.4 percent against a basket of major currencies. The
euro fell 0.3 percent to $1.3701.Shares of Apple were down 0.5 percent at $417.80. Earlier
in the day, International Business Machines Corp’s quarterly
results failed to impress investors used to a robust showing
from the technology bellwether. That added to worries over
lackluster corporate information technology spending. IBM shares fell 4.7 percent to $177.88.
