Global Stocks Mixed Friday

BEIJING (AP) -- Global stocks were mixed Friday after Wall Street declined on losses for tech stocks and Chinese economic growth slowed.

KEEPING SCORE: In early trading, Germany's DAX lost 0.6 percent to 11,549.06 and France's CAC-40 sank 0.6 percent to 5,082.63. London's FTSE 100 added 1 point to 7,025.71. On Wall Street, the future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent and that for the Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.1 percent.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.6 percent while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 shed 0.6 percent to 22,532.08. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.4 percent to 25,561.40 and Seoul's Kospi added 2,156.26. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 shed 3 points to 5,939.50 and India's Sensex sank 1.5 percent to 34,242.73. Manila rose while Taiwan, New Zealand and other Southeast Asian benchmarks declined.

COOLING CHINA: Growth in the world's second-biggest economy sank to a post-global crisis low in the quarter ending in September. The downturn adds to pressure on communist leaders as they fight a mounting tariff battle with Washington. A government spokesman said "downward pressure" was increasing. Retail spending and investment, key economic drivers, decelerated.

CHINA MARKETS: Finance officials led by China's economic czar, Vice Premier Liu He, launched a media blitz to reassure investors about the health of a stock market that has tumbled 30 percent since January. "Economic fundamentals are good," the central bank governor, Yi Gang, said on its website. Liu said the decline in share prices created "good investment opportunities."

ANALYST'S TAKE: "The markets continue to shudder as political turbulence ferments," said Stephen Innes of OANDA in a report. The Chinese data "offer little solace to risk sentiment," Innes said. "There are worrying signs beyond the tariff effect that are more concerning," including weaker factory output.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 30 cents to $68.95 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.10 on Thursday to $68.65. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 50 cents to $79.79 in London. It retreated 76 cents the previous session to $79.29.

CURRENCY: The dollar gained to 112.36 yen from Thursday's 112.17 yen. The euro declined to $1.1445 from $1.1453.

(BE)