GLOBAL MARKETS-Chinese data supports stocks as U.S. earnings season picks up

* China Q2 GDP matches consensus, monthly factory data
upbeat
* MSCI world index nears highest since Feb 2018
* Wall Street little changed; financials weigh

(Updates with open of U.S. markets, changes dateline; previous
LONDON)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - A gauge of global stocks
advanced on Monday as economic data from China came in as
expected, although stocks on Wall Street were little changed as
financials showed some weakness in the wake of Citigroup's C.N
earnings report.
China's second-quarter annual GDP growth rate fell to a
27-year low of 6.2%, as expected, while June reports on
industrial production, retail sales and urban investment were
above forecasts. "We knew it was going to be weaker, we knew the trade war
was going to have an impact. What is next is the People's Bank
of China remains stimulative, they remain accommodative to the
country," said Ken Polcari, managing principal at Butcher Joseph
Asset Management in New York.
"Really, the story is now obviously about earnings," he
added.
On Wall Street, major indexes were near flat, with the S&P
kept in check after its first close above the 3,000 mark by a
0.6% decline in financial .SPSY stocks in the wake of
Citigroup earnings. The bank's shares were last up 0.00% after
losing as much as 2.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 15.8 points, or
0.06%, to 27,316.23, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 2.76 points, or
0.09%, to 3,011.01 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 2.22
points, or 0.03%, to 8,246.37.
Equities have rallied since a sell-off in May as investors
have grown more confident the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut its
key interest rate by at least a quarter point late this month.
Improving economic data, however, could complicate the Fed's
ability to cut.
Corporate earnings are also moving into focus with a slew of
banks scheduled to follow Citi this week, including JP Morgan
JPM.N , Goldman Sachs GS.N and Wells Fargo WFC.N . According
to Refinitiv data, S&P 500 companies are expected to show a
decline of 0.3 percent for the quarter.
Other major companies scheduled to post results this week
include Netflix NFLX.O , Microsoft MSFT.O and Honeywell
HON.N .
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.36% and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained
0.09%.
European shares advanced even as Germany's Economy Ministry
said it expected the economy - Europe's largest - to turn in a
weak second quarter and said there remain significant risks from
the ongoing trade conflicts and Britain's expected departure
from the European Union. Germany's DAX was last up 0.52%.
Later in the week, U.S. retail sales and industrial
production data will provide clues about the health of the
world's largest economy. The Federal Reserve will release its
"Beige Book" on Wednesday and investors will scour it for
comments on how trade tensions are affecting the business
outlook.
U.S. Treasury yields were lower with investors eyeing
retail sales data due on Tuesday. Benchmark 10-year notes
US10YT=RR last rose 2/32 in price to yield 2.0992%, from
2.106% late on Thursday. Oil prices were little changed in the wake of the mixed tone
of the China data. U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 0.83% to $59.71 per
barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $66.49, down 0.34% on the
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