European stock futures down as investors digest disappointing Chinese data

European stock markets traded lower on Monday as investors deal with lowly Chinese economic data as well concerns over rising global inflation.

Germany’s DAX futures contract lowered 0.3%. CAC 40 futures in France dipped 0.1%. The FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. dropped 0.1%.

Investors saw Chinese data at a slower growth pace earlier today. Chinese industrial production expanded 9.8% year-on-year in April, considerably a healthy increase but lower than March’s 14.1%. Retail sales improved 17.7% in April year-on-year but remained lower than March’s 34.2% growth.

The data reflected a growing Chinese economy at a sustained level though the recovery from the coronavirus crisis remains uneven.

Last week, European stock markets groped for form after U.S. consumer prices jumped at the fastest rate since 2008. This rose concerns that the Federal Reserve could be forced to start tapering its easy monetary policy earlier than guided.