China shares down although growth data ease economy jitters

TOKYO  — Chinese shares zigzagged Monday after quarterly growth figures countered pessimism about the world's No. 2 economy. Other Asian markets were mixed after trimming losses.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.9 percent to 18,131.23 and China's Shanghai Composite Index was down nearly 0.9 percent by the afternoon at 3,362.59. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.5 percent to 22,950.12 and South Korea's Kopsi was unchanged, up 0.01 percent to 2,030.27. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was little changed, inching up 0.03 percent at 5,269.70. Other regional benchmarks were mixed, higher in Taiwan and Indonesia, but lower in Thailand and Singapore.

CHINA GROWTH: Data released Monday showed that China's economic growth decelerated in the latest quarter but relatively robust spending by Chinese consumers helped to avert a deeper downturn. The world's second-largest economy grew by 6.9 percent in the three months ended in September, down from the previous quarter's 7 percent and the slowest since early 2009 in the aftermath of the global crisis. Growth of 6.8 percent had been forecast by analysts.

ANALYST VIEW: "Although growth may be holding up in national headline figures, north and northeast China are basically having a regional recession with their heavy exposure to commodities and over-capacity secondary industries. How China lessens some of the strain they are suffering is still an open question for the government," said Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG.

WALL STREET: The Dow rose 74.22 points, or 0.4 percent, to close Friday at 17,215.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 9.25 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,033.11. The Nasdaq composite added 16.59 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,886.69. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 3.2 percent this year. The Dow and S&P 500 are still negative. The Dow is down 3.4 percent, while the S&P 500 is off 1.3 percent.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude slipped 31 cents to $46.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 88 cents to close at $47.26 in New York on Friday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 26 cents to $50.20. It rose 73 cents to close at $50.46 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 119.29 yen from 119.43 yen on Friday. The euro rose to $1.1374 from $1.1348.