Stocks Shrug Off China Disappointment But Oil Slides

Chinese officials have come under pressure to provide support for the country's battered property sector AFP

Major stock markets shrugged off weak data from China on Monday following a pledge by the country's finance minister to boost the world's second-biggest economy, but oil prices fell.

One of the week's key events, meanwhile, occurs Thursday when the European Central Bank is expected to lower interest rates again as anxiety about inflation in the eurozone fades and concerns over sluggish growth mount.

The euro traded lower against the dollar and pound Monday.

Wall Street opened mixed after setting more record highs Friday on strong US company earnings that added to positive sentiment over the world's biggest economy ahead of the country's presidential election next month.

The blue-chip Dow dipped 0.2 percent.

Shares in Boeing fell 1.5 percent after its announcement Friday after the market closed that it will cut 10 percent of its workforce and projected a large third-quarter loss amid a machinist strike in the Seattle region.

Without corporate earnings or data releases on Monday there was little driving trading, according to Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

"It's like participants are choosing what is thought to be the safest trade, not wanting to be out of the stock market but not wanting to chase it either without a clear-cut catalyst to bolster their conviction," he said.

Still, the S&P 500 moved higher into record territory ahead of the next big batch of corporate earnings reports on Tuesday, when Goldman Sachs, Citi and Bank of America release their third quarter figures.

In Europe, London and Frankfurt stocks moved higher in afternoon trading while Paris was flat.

Oil prices slid as concerns about the outlook for China's economy offset fears of escalating conflict in the crude-rich Middle East, analysts said.

"The devil is always in the detail and once again China has glossed over how it intends to accelerate economic growth," noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

China's finance minister Lan Fo'an on Saturday said the country would issue special bonds to bolster banks, signalling an impending spending spree to shore up the property market and ease local government debt.

Harry Murphy Cruise, an economist at Moody's Analytics, said the announcement "ticked most of the right boxes, but it lacked detail on the scale and scope of new spending", adding that "we expect more supports to be announced through the remainder of the year".

Authorities have been seeking to boost domestic activity and shore up China's ailing property sector.

In recent weeks, Chinese policymakers have unveiled a string of measures to stimulate activity and spur household consumption.

Following the latest announcement, official data Sunday showed China's consumer inflation rate slowed in September, in a sign that demand remains fragile.

Separate figures Monday revealed that China's export growth slowed sharply in September while imports remained sluggish.

Investors are eyeing key Chinese data later in the week, including on retail sales, trade and economic growth.

"While the full effects of the recent economic measures may not be immediately evident in the upcoming data releases, these figures will provide more insight into how China's economy is faring and whether additional actions may be necessary," said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG trading group.

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 42,790.34 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 5,830.42

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 18,430.82

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,262.16

Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 7,577.19

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 19,451.36

Shanghai - Composite: UP 2.1 percent at 3,284.32 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.8 percent at 21,092.87 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0912 from $1.0941 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3033 from $1.3068

Dollar/yen: UP at 149.86 yen from 149.09 yen