Stimulus fears keep world stocks on edge

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In Europe,stocks closed lower Friday following modest gains in the morning. Britains FTSE 100 shed 0.6 per cent 6,654 points while Frances CAC-40 declined 0.3 per cent at 3,956.

Germanys DAX followed suit,dropping 0.6 percent to 8,305 despite upbeat economic indicators. The Ifo index of business confidence and the GfK survey of consumer optimism both rose,according to surveys released on Friday,suggesting Europes largest economy will pick up in the second quarter.

Analysts said traders are mainly looking for more clues on what policymakers in Europe and the US will do to support economic growth. The market will likely stabilise as investors wait for more clarity on the data front to gauge the next policy moves, Anthony Lam at Credit Agricole said in a morning note to investors.

Wall Street was muted on opening in spite of latest figures from the US Commerce

Department showing an increase of 3.3 per cent in durable goods orders for April from the previous month.

However,US stock indexes pared most of their earlier declines on Friday and the Dow pushed into positive territory,helped by a strong gain in shares of Procter amp; Gamble.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 4.42 points,or 0.03 per cent,at 15,298.92. The Standard amp; Poors 500 Index were off 1.69 points,or 0.10 per cent,to 1,648.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 3 points,or 0.09 percent,to 3,456.42 at 2:26 pm New York time.

Trading volumes are likely to be somewhat limited on Friday as investors in the US and Britain prepare for a long holiday weekend,with their markets to remain closed on Monday. Reuters,AP