Dawn Chorus: Stock markets focus on economic data after a dull week

US stocks fell last week on persistent concerns the recovery has tapered off, and are in danger of declining further due to worries about economic data.

With 97% of S&P 500 companies having already reported quarterly earnings, as per Thomson Reuters, the focus now will be on economic figures, including reports on the housing market, durable goods and the preliminary reading of gross domestic product.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect a revision in US GDP growth for the second quarter to 1.4%, the slowest pace in a year, from an initial estimate of 2.4%.

New monthly home sales fell close to the historical low in May and they are set to decline in July after a marginal rebound in June.

Last week, the Dow Jones fell 0.9%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.7% but the Nasdaq added 0.3%.

European indices are also expected to take cue from a series of economic figures to be released this week. The German purchasing managers’ indices are expected by HSBC to remain at relatively high levels. The PMIs for the eurozone are likely to remain largely stable for both the manufacturing and service sectors.

On Friday, European shares declined to their lowest level in a month, below a key resistance level, as concerns about global economic growth weighed on sentiment.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares ended down 0.7% at 1,030 points, while the Euro STOXX 50 was down 1.2% at 2,644 points.

In Asia, further disappointing news is expected for Japan after China overtook it as the world’s second-largest economy in the second quarter of this year.

Japanese consumer prices have been declining since the start of last year and they are expected to fall further last month. The country’s trade balance surplus is also likely to fall due to a surge in imports that is likely to outweigh its exports.

The benchmark Nikkei fell 2% on Friday and was down 0.8% on the week, for a second straight negative week.