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World shares mixed as China reports economic slowdown

BANGKOK (AP) — Global shares were mixed Monday after China reported that its economy grew at the slowest pace in at least 26 years in the last quarter, leading investors to opt for caution despite Friday's record highs on Wall Street.

Tariff hikes by President Donald Trump have battered Chinese and U.S. exporters, and Chinese leaders have increased spending and loosened controls on bank lending to keep growth within this year's range of 6% to 6.5%. The 6.2% annual rate of growth China reported for April-June was the lowest since China began reporting such data in 1993.

Analysts said it shows the trade war between the U.S. and China is hammering industries.

Since China is the biggest export customer for many of its neighbors and a huge market for global suppliers of food, mobile phones and other goods, the weaker growth is unwelcome. However, expectations for more government stimulus to combat the slowdown could drive share prices higher.

"We remain concerned about whether the credit expansion can boost real economic activities," Raymond Yeung of ANZ said in a commentary. "We believe the People's Bank of China will continue to adopt a targeted policy as opposed to quantitative easing to support growth."

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in late June to restart talks on their stand-off over the longstanding U.S. trade deficit and Chinese economic policies that the U.S. side says are unfair and violate Beijing's commitments to open markets.

That truce is fragile, however, since the issues that caused talks to break down in May remain.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.2% to 7,505.10 while France's CAC 40 was flat at 5,572. In Germany, the DAX added 0.3% to 12,357 in midday trading. Wall Street was headed toward a slightly higher open, with the future contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2% at 27,365 and the future for the S&P 500 also picking up 0.2% to 3,020.

The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.4% to 2,942.19 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.3% to 28,554.88. Australia's S&P ASX 200 skidded 0.7% to 6,653.00 and in South Korea, the Kospi shed 0.2% lower to 2,082.48. India's Sensex climbed 0.4% to 38,896.12. Japan's markets were closed for a national holiday.

The mixed day in Asia follows a rally Friday in New York that pushed major U.S. stock indexes to record highs as investors bet the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark interest rate later this month for the first time in more than a decade to help counter slowing growth.

Bond yields have been moving higher for several days, suggesting investors are confident the U.S. economy will power ahead, at least for the next several months.

The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note was 2.12% compared to the multi-year low of 1.95% the bond hit only 10 days ago.

ENERGY: Benchmark crude oil picked up 19 cents to $60.40 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 1 cent to settle at $60.21 a barrel Friday in New York. Brent crude oil, the international standard, advanced 24 cents to $66.96 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar edged down slightly to 107.88 Japanese yen, while the euro made slight gains to $1.1278 from $1.1272 on Friday.

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