Investors were breathing a sigh of relief Monday after the latest readout on growth in China met expectations.
U.S. stock futures were modestly higher ahead of the open.
There had been concerns that the Chinese economic slowdown was intensifying.
While the latest data show China’s economy grew at a slower pace in the second quarter — with gross domestic product expanding by 7.5% over the previous year — the performance matched the government’s target and the consensus estimate from private forecasters.
“While confirming the inevitable slowing of the emerging market’s expansion, [there’s] a collective sigh of relief that it wasn’t any weaker,” noted Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets
China has averaged growth of around 10% a year in the past three decades.
Bank earnings will remain in focus Monday, with Citigroup set to report its quarterly results before the opening bell.
On the economic front, the government is scheduled to release data on June retail sales at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Ilya Spivak, a currency strategist at DailyFX, said that a significant rise in retail sales might lead stock markets to fall because traders may then expect an earlier end to the Fed’s massive bond-buying program, which has been supporting equity markets.
U.S. stocks inched higher Friday, and the slim gains were enough to send the Dow and S&P 500 to new record closing highs and the Nasdaq to the highest level in over a decade.
Boeing’s stock edged up 1% after British investigators said that a Dreamliner fire at London Heathrow Airport last Friday was not linked to its batteries, which have created problems in the past.
Major European markets gained less than 0.5% in morning trading, while the main Chinese markets ended with gains. The Shanghai Composite index and the Hang Seng index popped up by 1% and 0.1%, respectively.
In Japan, the Tokyo Stock Exchange was closed for a holiday.
