World shares were mostly higher early on Monday after China's central bank cut a key interest rate and Japan reported its economy picked up momentum in the last quarter.
US futures edged lower and oil prices fell more than USD 2. Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Sydney advanced while Hong Kong and Shanghai fell.
The People's Bank of China cut its rate on a one-year loan to 2.75 per cent from 2.85 per cent and injected an extra 400 billion yuan (USD 60 billion) in lending markets after government data showed July factory output and retail sales weakened.Beijing is aiming to shore up sagging growth in the world's second largest economy at a politically sensitive time when President Xi Jinping is believed to be trying to extend his hold on power.
The ruling Communist Party effectively acknowledged last month it can't hit this year's official 5.5 per cent growth target after anti-virus curbs disrupted trade, manufacturing and consumer spending. A crackdown on corporate debt has caused activity in the vast real estate industry to plunge.In early European trading, Germany's DAX edged up 0.1 per cent to 13,813.54 and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.3 per cent to 6,574.58. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.2 per cent to 7,513.09. The future for the S and P 500 lost 0.4 per cent and that for the Dow industrials was down 0.3 per cent.In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.1 per cent to 28,871.78 after the government reported the economy, the world's third largest, expanded at a 2.2 per cent rate in April-June from a year earlier.