Asian shares fall as China data points to slowing growth

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China has shown the world's second-largest economy slowed down in the second quarter, and as investors remain vulnerable over the impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war.

China's economy grew 6.7 percent in the second quarter of 2018, in line with market expectations, and by 6.8 percent in the third quarter.

More worryingly perhaps, the data also showed slower-than-expected growth in China's industrial output.

Taken together, the data point to an economy continuing to slow down the influence of a multi-year crackdown on excessive financial risk, as well as trade war headwinds gather.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.4 percent.

The Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC lost 0.5 percent, and the blue-chip CSI300 index .SSEC was 0.4 percent lower. Hong Kong's Seng Hang index .HSI was off 0.3 percent.

Australian shares were down 0.4 percent, and Seoul's Kospi .KS11 lost less than 0.1 percent.

Japan's markets are closed for a holiday.

The soft China data undermined sentiment from Friday's gains on Wall Street, which were underpinned by strong profits from industrial and energy firms and helped offset the U.S.-China trade war.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.38 percent to 25.019.41 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.03 percent to 7.825.98. The S & P 500 .SPX is up 0.11 percent to 2.801.31.

U.S. future stockings touched a fresh high five-month high on Monday. S & P500 e-mini future ESc1, the world's most liquid futures index, rose 0.2 percent in early 2.

At 0212 GMT, S & P 500 e-mini futures were 0.1 percent higher at 2805.5.

The pink dollar 0.1 percent against the yen to 112.49 JPY =.

The euro was flat on the day at $ 1.1682, and the dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was also flat at 94.734.

Major currencies have been made in China by the United States. trade skirmishing. Investors had also been awaiting the China data, and are still looking at June U.S. retail sales data, to gauge the state of global growth.

The yield on 10-year benchmark Treasury notes US10YT = Pink RR to 2.8289 percent compared with its U.S. close of 2.831 percent on Friday.

U.S. Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Report to the U.S. "It is expected that" further gradual increases in interest rates due to "solid" economic growth.

ANZ analysts said in a note Monday that the Fed's report "yielded some surprises," but noted that trade tensions continue to weigh on commodity markets and U.S. consumer confidence.

U.S. crude CLc1 dipped 0.5 percent at $ 70.64 a barrel, weighing by easing concerns about supply disruptions that had driven prices higher. Brent crude LCOc1 was 0.7 percent lower at $ 74.82 per barrel.

A rising dollar on Monday, but spot gold XAU = slightly higher on Monday, trading at $ 1242.40 per ounce. [GOL/]