\n\tThe analyst principally responsible for the production of this research report is: Howard Humphreys, Director & Lead Research Analyst, Seismic Research<\/p>\n
\n\tAsian stocks slump as ASX<\/span> rallies on domestic data<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tAsian stocks posted broad losses today with the Nikkei-225 plummeting about 2% as the yen surged against the dollar and Chinese stocks falling after a report showed foreign direct investment (FDI<\/span>) slumped. Asian markets also retreated today as the World Bank cut its global growth forecast for 2013 to 2.4%, down from a forecast of 3% in June last year and below the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 3.2%. The World Bank cited government austerity measures, high unemployment and low business confidence that will weigh on the \n\tThe World Bank said that “the global economic environment remains fragile and prone to further disappointment, although the balance of risks is now less skewed to the downside than it has been in recent years”.<\/p>\n \n\tThe local market managed to post a 0.5% gain today, extending a positive start after Westpac said Australian consumer confidence increased 0.6% this month and a report showed Australian new motor vehicle sales surged 17.9% from a year earlier in December.<\/p>\n \n\tTo read today's report in PDF in full, see link at the top of this story.<\/p>\n
\n\tgrowth outlook for developed nations.<\/p>\n