Global stocks fell Tuesday after Chinese trade contracted and oil traded at its lowest in six years, AP reported. In early European trading, Germany's DAX lost 0.7 percent to 10,814.51 and France's CAC-40 shed 0.6 percent to 4,728.91. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.4 percent to 6,202.01. Wall Street looked set for a second day of declines. Dow futures were down 0.4 percent to 17,679.00 and S&P 500 futures dropped 0.5 percent to 2,071.50. Customs data showed imports and exports shrank again in November, though there were signs weak domestic demand might be improving. Exports contracted by 6.8 percent, accelerating from October's 3.6 percent fall. Imports fell 8.7 percent, an improvement over the previous month's 16 percent decline. Import volumes of some goods such as crude oil, fresh fruit and cooking oil rose. "It may suggest a stabilization of domestic demand momentum," said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics in a report. China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.9 percent to 3,470.07 and Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 1 percent to 19,492.60. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 retreated 0.9 percent to 5,108.60 and Seoul's Kospi declined 0.7 percent to 1,949.04. India's Sensex was off 0.5 percent at 25,401. Taiwan, Singapore, Jakarta and New Zealand also declined. The dollar declined to 123.06 yen from 123.30 yen on Monday. The euro edged up to $1.0867 from $1.0835.
