Markets mixed as China reports slowest growth rate since 1990

Markets were mixed on Monday.

The US stock market was closed for a holiday but S&P 500 futures fell 0.6 percent. The STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.2 percent but Asian stocks were higher even as China reported that its economy grew 6.6 percent in 2018, the slowest rate since 1990.

In a report on Monday, the International Monetary Fund reduced its global growth forecast for this year to 3.5 percent from 3.7 percent in October.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, wrote in a note that the Chinese GDP report “reinforces the concerns of a slowdown that has prompted a series of measures by Chinese authorities this month to try to manage the worst effects of some sharp economic weakness that has spooked global investors”.