Markets mixed as China data disappoint

Markets were mixed on Thursday.

In the US the S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent but the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 percent.

Elsewhere, the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.1 percent but in Asia, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 percent and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4 percent.

Disappointing economic data out of China held back stocks. Value-added industrial output slowed for a second straight month in August while growth in investments was the slowest in almost 18 years.

The data came even as some analysts see better prospects for Asian and emerging market stocks.

Analysts at Societe General said that Asian stocks have been beating global stocks and that the outperformance has only just begun.

Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that emerging market stocks could double in two years and suggest that “a substantial overweight in Asia/EM equities is warranted”.