Stocks, oil flounder on growth anxiety, China data little help 

Asian stocks stumbled to seven-month lows on Monday, while crude oil prices were pinned near a four-year trough as promising trade numbers out of China failed to cheer a market still worried about faltering global growth.

“European equities look set to open sharply lower yet again following a terrible ending to U.S. equity trading on Friday and another lurch lower in Asia overnight,” William Nicholls, a London-based dealer at Capital Spreads wrote in a trading note.

“As the global recovery seems to become increasingly less certain…the risk off trade has become worryingly prevalent.”

The declines in Asian markets came after U.S. stocks tumbled 1.2 percent on Friday and Wall Street’s fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index, jumped to a near two-year high.

“I’m still a little bit hesitant in becoming very bullish on export growth, simply looking at the state of the global economy,” said Louis Kuijs, chief China economist at RBS in Hong Kong.

Such were the worries about global growth that IMF member countries on Saturday called for bold action to bolster the global economic recovery and flagged Europe as a top concern.

Commodities have also been badly hit, none more so than crude oil which has to contend with ample supply as well.

Underscoring the gloom surrounding the euro zone, Standard & Poor’s on Friday slapped a negative outlook on France’s sovereign ratings, topping off a difficult week that featured a string of worryingly weak German data.

Source: reuters- Stocks, oil flounder on growth anxiety, China data little help

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