In This Article:
* U.S. retail sales fall for first time in 7 months
* Upbeat U.S. earnings cushion blow from data
* Sterling volatile as Brexit talks continue
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Global stocks barely moved on Thursday as soft U.S. retail sales data raised concerns about the health of the world's largest economy and risk of global recession, while sterling was volatile as negotiations on a Brexit deal continued.
Both MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan and Japan's Nikkei were little changed in early trade while U.S. stock futures lost 0.15%.
The S&P 500 shed 0.20% the previous day after data showed U.S. retail sales contracted in September for the first time in seven months, in a potential sign that manufacturing-led weakness could be spreading to the broader economy.
"It looks like the trade war has claimed yet another victim, in addition to diminished business confidence and reduced investment spending, as consumers are starting to chicken out," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank.
Given U.S. consumption has been one of few remaining bright spots in the global economy, the data fanned worries about a global recession.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators were working on nailing down a Phase 1 trade deal text for their presidents to sign next month.
But he also said there were no plans for another high-level meeting on the trade deal outlined last week.
"While the U.S. suspended a hike in tariffs, it hasn't gone as far as scrapping the tariffs altogether, so it is hard to expect a quick pick-up in the economy," said Yoshinori Shigemi, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.
Losses in equities were offset by a solid start to the earnings season, though that is partly because investors have already marked down their expectations substantially, with earnings for S&P 500 companies expected to show a decline of 3% for the quarter, according to Refinitiv data.
Bank of America shares rose 2.0% following its quarterly results. Netflix rose 9.9% in after-hours trade after its earnings beat Wall Street estimates.
In the currency market, soft U.S. retail sales took the shine out of the dollar.
The dollar index fell 0.30% on Wednesday and last stood at 97.964, having touched its lowest since Aug. 27.
Against the yen the dollar slipped to 108.73 yen, after peaking at 108.90 on Tuesday.
The euro stood at $1.1075, up 0.04% so far in Asia, near a one-month high of $1.1085 hit in U.S. trade on Wednesday.