Chinese shares dropped in early trading following government data showing economic growth slowed more than economists were expecting. Japanese shares rose as a weaker yen bolstered exporters stocks and local reports suggested some companies could beat their earnings forecasts. Elsewhere in Asia, stocks were mixed, with Australia up and the Kospi lower.
US markets (Fri)
DJIA down 127.04 at 8,852.22
Nasdaq down 6.42 at 1,711.29
S&P500 down 5.88 at 940.55
Asian markets (Mon)
5:27am BST
Nikkei up 244.16 at 8937.98
Topix up 24.68 at 918.93
Hang Seng up 531.07 at 15085.58
European markets (Fri)
FTSE100 up 201.62 at 4,063.01
Eurofirst up 36.36 at 894.77
Currencies
5:14am BST
€/$ 1.34460 (1.3471)
$/¥ 101.690 (101.61)
£/$ 1.73360 (1.7337)
Commodities
5:16am BST
Brent Crude (Dec08) up 1.15 at 70.75
Silver 5000Oz (Dec08) up 40.50 at 974.0
Gold 100Z (Dec08) up 12.40 at 800.1
Copper (Dec08) down 0.45 at 217.5
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 3.96 (3.94)
UK 4.66 (4.71)
Germany 4.04 (4.06)
Japan 1.54 (1.60)