Stocks Slip on US-China Trade Worries  12/09 07:49

   Stock markets weakened during European trading on Monday as investors 
weighed the possibility of more U.S. tariffs on China and the outlook for 
negotiations on the trade dispute.

   TOKYO (AP) -- Stock markets weakened during European trading on Monday as 
investors weighed the possibility of more U.S. tariffs on China and the outlook 
for negotiations on the trade dispute.

   A Chinese official said that Beijing wants a prompt settlement of its trade 
war with Washington as another U.S. tariff hike on $160 billion of Chinese 
imports is due to take effect Sunday. China announced Friday it was carrying 
out a promise to waive punitive tariffs on American soybeans and pork.

   France's CAC 40 slipped 0.4% in midday trading to 5,850, while Germany's DAX 
declined 0.2% to 13,145. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.1% to 7,232.

   U.S. shares were set to drift slightly lower with Dow and S&P 500 futures 
both falling less than 0.1%.

   In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged 0.3% higher to finish at 
23,430.70, after the Cabinet Office reported the economy expanded at a 1.8% 
annual pace in July-September, spurred by strong consumer purchases ahead of an 
Oct. 1 sales tax hike. That was much stronger than the 0.2% growth earlier 
reported and marked a fourth straight quarter of expansion for the world's No. 
3 economy.

   Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 6,730.00. S outh 
Korea's Kospi edged 0.3% higher to 2,088.65. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was little 
changed, inching down to 26,494.73. The Shanghai Composite index rose nearly 
0.1% to 2,914.48.

   The week got off to a strong start after the Dow Jones Industrial Average 
jumped more than 300 points on Friday, while the S&P 500 erased losses from 
earlier in the week, nudging the benchmark index to a second consecutive weekly 
gain.

   A surprisingly strong U.S. jobs report for November put investors in a 
buying mood Friday on Wall Street, extending the market's winning streak to a 
third day.

   The Labor Department said employers added 266,000 positions, well above 
estimates of 184,000. The report also showed unemployment falling to a 50-year 
low. Separately, an index that measures how consumers feel about the economy 
showed an increase from last month.

   In energy markets, the benchmark for crude oil lost 56 cents to $58.64 a 
barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It advanced 
77 cents to $59.20 per barrel on Friday. Brent crude oil, the international 
standard for pricing, shed 59 cents to $63.80.

   In currencies, the dollar fell to 108.47 Japanese yen from 108.59 yen on 
Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1077 from $1.1062. 


(AG)