Markets mixed as IMF leaves growth forecast unchanged

Markets were mixed on Monday.

In the US, the S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent but the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4 percent to close at a record high.

Elsewhere, the STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.2 percent while in Asia, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 percent but the Shanghai Composite rose 0.4 percent.

The International Monetary Fund left its forecast for this year's global growth unchanged at 3.5 percent in its latest quarterly update to its World Economic Outlook but lowered its forecast for the US economy to 2.1 percent from 2.3 percent.

Meanwhile, though, US corporate earnings for the second quarter have been generally positive, according to Savita Subramanian, equity and quantitative strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, with “the highest proportion of top and bottom-line beats at this point during earnings season in over five years”.