Asian investors mull European recession, weak US retail sales

Asian stock markets outside Japan struggled to advance on Friday after data showed Europe tipping into recession territory while US retail sales disappointed investors.

The European Union’s statistics agency confirmed that the 17 countries using the euro currency are shrinking, with the region’s gross domestic product contracting 0.1 per cent in the third quarter from the previous three-month period.

In the US, investors were dealt dual blows: a worse-than-expected earnings report from Wal-Mart, and weak manufacturing data.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1083746/asian-investors-mull-european-recession-weak-us