Markets got off to a slow start for the week despite news that the Chinese economy grew 2.3% in 2020 after a sharp contraction early in the year. Shares fell in Paris, London and Tokyo but advanced in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Most U.S. Markets are closed Monday for a national holiday.
Investors appear to have grown increasingly wary over the deepening economic devastation from the pandemic despite hopes that Covid-19 vaccines and fresh aid for the U.S. Economy might hasten a global recovery.
Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% lower to 13,769.97 and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.4% to 5,588.28. In Britain, the FTSE 100 lost less than 0.1% to 6,731.23. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials both were down 0.3%. China was the first country to suffer outbreaks of the new coronavirus and the first major economy to begin recovering as meanwhile US, Europe and Japan are struggling with outbreaks.