Confidence falls in US and Australia, better in Germany

US consumer confidence finally ended its strong run, falling to 103.2 in July from 106.2 in June.

Sentiment in Australia also deteriorated. The National Australia Bank's business confidence index fell to a seasonally-adjusted 3.0 points in the June quarter from an index reading of 8.0 points in the March quarter. The reading of current business conditions remained at 14 index points, but the seasonally-adjusted 12-month expectations index of business conditions fell by 4.0 points.

Sentiment in Germany, however, continued to recover. The Ifo business climate index of business sentiment rose for the second consecutive month in July, to 95.0 from 93.3 in June.

There was also some good news from Asia.

South Korea's economy grew 3.3 percent in the second quarter compared to a year earlier, up from a 2.7 percent year-on-year gain in the first quarter. Seasonally-adjusted, second-quarter GDP rose 1.2 percent from the first quarter.

In Singapore, manufacturing output grew 11.1 percent year-on-year in June, or 9.2 percent on a seasonally-adjusted month-on-month basis. The inflation rate, though, turned negative, with the consumer price index falling 0.7 percent in June from the previous month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

A widely-expected recovery in the semiconductor industry from the second half of the year onwards should boost prospects for Asian and global economic growth, and possibly semiconductor stocks.