Markets mixed, Chinese retail sales disappoint

Markets were mixed on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent but the STOXX Europe 500 fell 0.8 percent and the Nikkei 225 fell 0.5 percent.

“We remain positive on the equity outlook, and expect S&P 500 to reach 4,700 by end of this year and surpass 5,000 next year on better than expected earnings,” JPMorgan strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas wrote in a note on Wednesday.

However, China's economy suffered a setback in August.

Retail sales rose 2.5 percent last month from a year ago, well below the 7 percent growth forecast by analysts polled by Reuters. Industrial production rose 5.3 percent, also below expectations.