The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and European markets saw gains on Monday, despite a report indicating that China’s economic growth has decelerated to its slowest rate in a year due to the ongoing trade tensions with the U.S.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 4.8% year-on-year for the July to September quarter. This figure aligns with forecasts but represents a decline from a 5.2% growth in the previous quarter.
Though the year-on-year growth shows a slowdown, quarterly GDP growth was 1.1%, surpassing the anticipated 0.8% and slightly better than the revised 1.0% from the earlier quarter.
This economic data release arrives on the eve of China’s four-day “fourth plenum” meeting, where communist leaders will discuss the upcoming five-year plan for the country. The data reflects challenges in retail sales, contrasting with a boost in factory output.
In other news, a significant internet outage affected multiple popular websites, games, and applications. Users experienced issues accessing platforms such as Amazon, Roblox, and Snapchat, primarily due to an operational glitch at Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Monitoring service Downdetector reported over 4 million outage complaints globally on Monday morning, which is significantly higher than the typical weekday figures.
Meanwhile, the FTSE index was up by 0.3% in early trading, with Germany’s DAX rising by 1.3%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index increased by 0.6%, and U.S. indices also indicated a positive opening, reflecting an optimistic market sentiment amidst ongoing economic updates.
