EUROPE Markets falls on growth worries

European stock markets were weaker on Tuesday, 17 January 2023, in line with the declines recorded at most Asian bourses, amid global growth concerns after a government report showed China's economic growth slowed to 3% in 2022, registering its second lowest growth rate in 50 years in the world's second-largest economy.

China's economy grew 2.9% in the fourth quarter last year, easing from a 3.9% pace in the preceding three months, the statistics bureau said. Full-year growth was 3% versus 8.1% in 2021, it added. Retail sales fell by 1.8% from a year earlier, following a 5.9% decline in November. Industrial output increased 1.3% versus a 2.2% gain in November.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that global economic growth will bottom out this year.

At 13:05 GMT, the pan European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.1% to 454.11. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index fell 0.24% to 7,841.21. France's CAC40 index eased 0.03% to 7,040.86. Germany's DAX index fell 0.05% to 15,126.07. Switzerland's Swiss Market index dropped 0.36% to 11,395.21.

In CORPORATE NEWS: Recruitment agency Hays rallied 2.4% after posting a rise in its second-quarter net fees.

Danone fell about 1% after it announced a global action plan to reduce absolute methane emissions from its fresh milk supply chain by 30% by 2030. The company plans to remove 1.2 million tons carbon dioxide equivalent of methane emissions by 2030.

Shares of Ocado Group fell 6.6% after its online joint venture Ocado Retail said its customers purchased fewer items per order in the run-up to Christmas in response to the cost-of-living crisis.

ECONOMIC NEWS: UK Unemployment Rate Unchanged At 3.7%- The UK unemployment rate remained unchanged in three months to November and wage pressures intensified, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed. The ILO jobless rate held steady at 3.7% in three months to November, as expected. Average earnings including bonuses grew 6.4% annually in three months to November.

Earnings excluding bonuses also increased 6.4%, the fastest since records began in 2001, excluding the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Data showed that the claimant count rose to a seven-month high of 4% in December from 3.9% in November. Jobless claims increased by 19,700 from the previous month.

In three months to December, job vacancies declined by 75,000 from September to 1.16 million. Despite six consecutive quarterly falls, the ONS said the number of vacancies remained at historically high levels. In December, payrolled employees showed another monthly increase of 28,000 on November to 29.9 million.

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