LONDON — World stocks finished mostly lower Monday amid worries that the economic recovery in the U.S. will slow down, with trading light as Wall Street remained closed for the long Independence Day weekend.
A disappointing jobs report from the U.S. on Friday suggested the world’s largest economy is stuttering, while other figures indicate China — which booked good growth during the recent years of financial and economic turmoil — could also slow down.
European markets found some support during the session in a report showing retail sales in the region rose modestly in May, but ended slightly lower. The British FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX both finished down 0.3 percent at 4,823.53 and 5,816.20, respectively.
France’s CAC-40 was down about 0.5 percent at 3,332.46.
Asian markets were mixed at the close, with the Shanghai index down but Japan’s Nikkei up.
“Growth fears have in particular been centered on the U.S. in the wake of a run of disappointing data,” said Mitul Kotecha, an analyst at Credit Agricole.
While some investors might be quietly buying back into the market after heavy losses last week, overall sentiment is cautious.
Besides the weak jobs data, U.S. indicators have recently shown a drop in home sales, a fall in consumer confidence and a slide in manufacturing. That spooked investors already fretting over the European debt crisis and its impact on major trading partners such as the U.S. and in Asia.
In Asia, some investors worried that massive bank lending in China last year, intended to support Beijing’s stimulus program, might spark a wave of defaults. Chinese companies that overspent on factories and other assets might be unable to repay their debts.
