Sydney: Asian stocks faltered on Tuesday as Chinese economic data disappointed and investors pondered whether a marked flattening in the US yield curve might ultimately be a harbinger of a slowdown there.
China's retail sales rose 10 per cent on the year in October, while industrial output grew 6.2 per cent. Both came in under market forecasts and nudged down the Australian dollar, which is often used as a liquid proxy for China wagers.
The immediate damage was limited in stocks with the blue-chip CSI300 index off 0.4 per cent and EMini futures for the S&P 500 down 0.1 per cent.
