World stocks decline on bleak UK factory output

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said Tuesday that the European Union needs to move ahead with reforms to keep troubles in the banking system from dragging down government finances.

He also urged faster reforms in the financially troubled countries, saying “only governments and not the central bank system” can solve the crisis.

Meanwhile, the British government issued data showing industrial production for January dropped sharply, a day after data released by the French government for factory output showed the same result.

The British data raised fears that Europe's third-largest economy might be heading for its third recession in four years.

“The sharp drop in UK industrial production and a warning by the Bundesbank's Weidmann that the euro zone crisis was not over added a dose of caution to the market,” said analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong.

Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.6 percent at 6,470.92. Germany's DAX lost 0.2 percent to 7,954.39. France's CAC-40 fell 0.3 percent to 3,826.93. In New York, the Dow looked set to snap an eight-day winning streak. Dow Jones industrial futures fell 0.1 percent to 14,372 while S&P 500 futures slipped marginally to 1,546.20.

Stock market losses began in Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.6 percent to close at 12,239.66 after the yen's fall against the dollar paused. The yen has been weak against other currencies in recent weeks because of expectations of monetary easing by the Bank of Japan under the leadership of its incoming chief, Haruhiko Kuroda.

Kuroda has been critical of the central bank's policies in the past and is thought to back Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's strategies for seeking to revive Japan's economy by fighting deflation through monetary easing and hefty government spending.

South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.2 percent to 1,997.69. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.5 percent at 5,092.40.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1.5 percent to 22,556.65. Stocks in mainland China also fell. The Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.4 percent to 2,253.74. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.9 percent at 918.10.

Linus Yip, strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong, said investors were retreating because of renewed concerns about Europe's debt crisis and lagging growth.

But investors were also having a second look at China's economy and whether future growth can match past performance. The latest Chinese data, including retail sales and manufacturing, was below expectations, he said.

“At the end of the year, the market was expecting accelerating growth in mainland China. Market sentiment was pretty high,” Yip said. “Right now, we don't say it is slowing down in mainland China, but maybe stable growth.”

Gold was at US$1,592.00 an ounce at 0808 GMT compared with US$1,582.70 late Tuesday.

In other markets:

— Wellington fell 0.86 percent, or 37.62 points, to 4,341.15.

— Manila closed 0.15 percent lower, giving up 9.86 points to 6,776.56.

— Kuala Lumpur lost 0.62 percent, or 10.32 points, to 1,646.22.

— Bangkok added 0.13 percent, or 2.02 points, to 1,578.70.

— Jakarta was down 0.39 percent, or 18.87 points, at 4,835.44.

— Singapore dropped 0.44 percent, or 14.50 points, to 3,288.52.

— Mumbai fell 1.03 percent, or 202.37 points, to 19,362.55 points.

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