World stocks weakened on Tuesday after data showed the U.S. economy grew at a slower pace than expected in the third quarter, pushing the dollar higher and suggesting a lethargic economic recovery, according to Reuters. The U.S. data showed growth at a 2.8 percent annual rate rather than a previous forecast of 3.5 percent. It was still the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2007, probably ending the most painful U.S. recession in 70 years. Yet investors need to see stronger growth to justify the rally seen in stocks and high-risk high-yielding assets. "If we want to get this economy going, if we want to get this economy recovering and add jobs, we"re going to want to see better numbers than we are seeing," said Richard Sparks, a senior equities analyst with Schaeffer"s Investment Research in Cincinnati. SCI"s all-country world stock index was down 0.61 percent, yet it has gained 31.02 percent so far this year. U.S. stocks fell after the economic data as investors look for more robust growth to justify additional stock gains. The Dow hit a 13-month high on Monday and the S&P 500 has risen 22 percent this year. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.39 percent, at 10,410.44. The Standard & Poor"s 500 Index was down 0.26 percent, at 1,103.40, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.54 percent, at 2,164.24. Other U.S. data showed house prices rose for the fifth month in September, but the pace of appreciation was less than expected, according to Standard & Poor"s/Case-Shiller report. U.S. consumer confidence was up in November, after an unexpected drop in October, but still pointed to weak labor market sentiment. "The index showed unexpected marginal improvement, but there seems to be no improvement whatsoever in the perception of the labor market which is probably the key issue now. The good news is it can"t get any worse," said Pierre Ellis, senior economist at Decision Economics in New York. DOLLAR DAY The U.S. dollar firmed against a basket of currencies and weakened against the Japanese yen as the economic data rekindled the safe-haven allure of both the dollar and yen. That reduced investor appetite for riskier assets like stocks and commodities, including higher-yielding currencies. The dollar index was 0.15 percent at 75.194, while the euro as down 0.13 percent at $1.4946. Against the yen, the dollar was down 0.46 percent at 88.54. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury debt prices gained slightly amid doubts about the strength of the economic recovery. Market players were holding back ahead of an auction of $42 billion of five-year Treasury notes. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were trading 3/32 higher in price to yield 3.34 percent, down from 3.35 percent late on Monday. Later in the session, the Federal Reserve will release minutes of its Nov. 3-4 meeting and markets will look for any hints on when and how the Fed will withdraw extraordinary economic support measures. The minutes also include economic projections. Earlier, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed 0.7 percent lower at 1,016.66 points after rising to a high of 1,025.17 earlier in the session. The index has gained 57 percent since falling to a record low in early March and is up 22 percent for the year. Many global stock investors are being cautious heading into the year-end, wanting to lock in profits after a very good run in 2009 while also worrying about the true state of the world economy. Japan"s Nikkei hit its lowest close in four months, down 1 percent on the day. Japan"s current concerns are focused on worries financial firms will tap the market for equity financing and on a stronger yen hurting the shares of exporters.
