HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks pulled back from a six-month high on Thursday, while the safe-haven yen gained after China posted its slowest ever quarterly growth in a signal of the frailty of the global economy.
A day after a mixed set of economic data from the United States, it was China's turn, saying its economy grew a slower-than-expected 6.1 percent in the first quarter, but posting other data, such as industrial output, that signaled some optimism.
After an impressive month-long rally in global equities investors still appear conflicted between seeing glimmers of hope that the world economic downturn is showing signs of easing and other indicators that point to more pain ahead.
Riskier assets, such as oil, also pared gains but not by too much, helped as well by speculation that China could implement a new stimulus package reinforced hopes that policy maker worldwide are in battle mode amidst the worst global downturn in decades.
Central bankers are cutting interest rates and flooding liquidity into financial systems, further reinforcing some of these hopes.
"No doubt China has felt the ramifications of the global crisis and growth has moderated, but the economy is showing signs of stabilizing and we can expect a recovery in the second half," said Su-Lin ong, a senior economist at RBC Capital Markets in Sydney. more...
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