China's Economy Falters, Markets React

Markets are still reeling from China's raft of unimpressive data, and worries over a stuttering post-COVID-19 recovery in the world's second-biggest economy are likely to linger. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was down for the second straight day after data on Monday showed China's economy faltered in the second quarter, cranking up pressure on policymakers to deliver more stimulus. The anemic Chinese recovery has cast a shadow over global markets, particularly in Europe, where consumer, technology, industrials, and materials sectors all have significant exposure to China. Europe's luxury firms plummeted Monday after underwhelming earnings from Cartier owner Richemont, dragging the pan-European STOXX 600 index lower. On Tuesday, China announced a series of measures to boost consumption of household consumer goods and services.