The International Monetary Fund said on Sunday that the global economic outlook is even gloomier than projected last month. It cited a steady worsening in purchasing manager surveys in recent months

WION Business News | Global economic outlook getting `gloomier`, says IMF

According to a new report by the Asian Development Bank, due to the devastating and extended effects of COVID-19, the Asian economies are expected to end the year in negative territory for the first time since the 1960s.

Asian  Economies to contract first time in 60 years

Asian&nbsp;shares&nbsp;slipped on the last trading day of the&nbsp;decade, echoing falls on Wall Street, as&nbsp;investors&nbsp;locked in gains made since <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/phase-one-trade-deal-reached-with-us-china-268186">the United States and China</a> reached a preliminary trade deal earlier this month.

Early in the&nbsp;Asian&nbsp;trading session, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific&nbsp;shares&nbsp;outside Japan was down 0.39 per cent, its weakest performance since December&nbsp;4. For the month, the index is still up 5.7 per cent.

The index has gained 16 per cent&nbsp;this year, a sharp turnaround from a 16.2 per cent drop last year but lagging a 23.8 per cent year-to-date gain in MSCI's&nbsp;global&nbsp;share index.

Australian&nbsp;shares&nbsp;were 1.69 per cent&nbsp;lower&nbsp;and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.32 per cent.

"We are seeing some profit-taking into year-end," said Ryan Felsman, senior economist at CommSec in Sydney, adding that progress on resolving the 17-month-long US-China trade war remained a positive factor for&nbsp;investors&nbsp;into the new year.

The White House's trade adviser on Monday said the US-China Phase 1 trade deal would likely be signed in the next week, but said confirmation would come from President Donald Trump or the US&nbsp;Trade Representative.

"We think that the&nbsp;global&nbsp;growth situation is improving, we're seeing better industrial&nbsp;profits&nbsp;in China ... green shoots in the manufacturing sector on the back of an improvement in the trade situation is a key catalyst going forward," he said.

While easing trade concerns and steps toward a resolution of Britain's exit from the European Union have helped reduce some near-term market uncertainty,&nbsp;investors&nbsp;remain uneasy with a recession seen as inevitable in the new&nbsp;decade.

Positive Chinese manufacturing data, which showed factory activity in China expanded for a second straight month in December, nudged China's blue-chip CSI300 index 0.1 per cent&nbsp;higher, extending the more than 33 per cent&nbsp;gain seen this year.

China's modest gains built on Monday's rally, which was driven by a combination of strong retail sales growth and hopes that a new benchmark for floating-rate loans could&nbsp;lower&nbsp;borrowing costs.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/global-markets-china-lifts-asian-shares-oil-up-on-drawdowns-mideast-tensions-270929">Markets</a>&nbsp;in Japan and South Korea were closed for a holiday.

The falls in Asia came after profit-taking pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.64 per cent&nbsp;to 28,462.14, the S&amp;P 500 0.58 per cent&nbsp;lower&nbsp;to 3,221.29 and the Nasdaq Composite off 0.67 per cent&nbsp;to 8,945.99.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-treasury-secretary-mnuchin-says-trade-deal-with-china-to-boost-global-economy-268327">US&nbsp;Treasury</a> futures were&nbsp;lower, reflecting an implied yield of 1.82 per cent. That followed a rise in benchmark US&nbsp;Treasury yields on Monday that pushed the US&nbsp;two-year, 10-year yield curve to its steepest in 14 months.

The dollar continued to weaken against the yen, dropping 0.12 per cent&nbsp;to 108.73, and the euro strengthened 0.16% to buy $1.1215.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was 0.06 per cent&nbsp;lower&nbsp;at 96.686.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/oil-gains-on-us-crude-stocks-fall-opec-comments-on-slower-us-shale-growth-262061">US&nbsp;crude</a> dipped 0.18 per cent&nbsp;to $61.57 a barrel and Brent crude shed 0.15 per cent&nbsp;to $66.57 per barrel.

Gold continued its rally on a weakening dollar. On the spot market, the precious metal was changing hands at $1,520.16 per ounce, up 0.33 per cent.

Asian shares slipped on the last trading day of the decade, echoing falls on Wall Street, as investors locked in gains made since the United States and China reached a preliminary trade deal earlier this month.

Asian shares slipped on the last trading day of the decade, echoing falls on Wall Street, as investors locked in gains made since the United States and China reached a preliminary trade deal earlier this month. Early in the Asian trading session, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.39 per cent, its weakest performance since December 4. For the month, the index is still up 5.7 per cent. The index has gained 16 per cent this year, a sharp turnaround from a 16.2 per cent drop last year but lagging a 23.8 per cent year-to-date gain in MSCI's global share index. Australian shares were 1.69 per cent lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.32 per cent. "We are seeing some profit-taking into year-end," said Ryan Felsman, senior economist at CommSec in Sydney, adding that progress on resolving the 17-month-long US-China trade war remained a positive factor for investors into the new year. The White House's trade adviser on Monday said the US-China Phase 1 trade deal would likely be signed in the next week, but said confirmation would come from President Donald Trump or the US Trade Representative. "We think that the global growth situation is improving, we're seeing better industrial profits in China ... green shoots in the manufacturing sector on the back of an improvement in the trade situation is a key catalyst going forward," he said. While easing trade concerns and steps toward a resolution of Britain's exit from the European Union have helped reduce some near-term market uncertainty, investors remain uneasy with a recession seen as inevitable in the new decade. Positive Chinese manufacturing data, which showed factory activity in China expanded for a second straight month in December, nudged China's blue-chip CSI300 index 0.1 per cent higher, extending the more than 33 per cent gain seen this year. China's modest gains built on Monday's rally, which was driven by a combination of strong retail sales growth and hopes that a new benchmark for floating-rate loans could lower borrowing costs. Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed for a holiday. The falls in Asia came after profit-taking pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.64 per cent to 28,462.14, the S&P 500 0.58 per cent lower to 3,221.29 and the Nasdaq Composite off 0.67 per cent to 8,945.99. US Treasury futures were lower, reflecting an implied yield of 1.82 per cent. That followed a rise in benchmark US Treasury yields on Monday that pushed the US two-year, 10-year yield curve to its steepest in 14 months. The dollar continued to weaken against the yen, dropping 0.12 per cent to 108.73, and the euro strengthened 0.16% to buy $1.1215. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was 0.06 per cent lower at 96.686. US crude dipped 0.18 per cent to $61.57 a barrel and Brent crude shed 0.15 per cent to $66.57 per barrel. Gold continued its rally on a weakening dollar. On the spot market, the precious metal was changing hands at $1,520.16 per ounce, up 0.33 per cent.

Global Markets: Asian shares lower as investors book decade-end profits

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday said the outlook for Asia-Pacific economic growth remains "relatively stable", but downside risks have increased, highlighting trade deceleration, higher oil prices and the volatility of the global financial market.

In a press conference at the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank held in Washington DC, US, Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific department, said trade policy uncertainty could pose a renewed threat to growth.

Rhee suggested countries should adopt appropriate macro-control policies to maintain economic growth and stabilize employment. He pointed out that recent fiscal stimulus policies put forward by economies such as China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will play an important role in stabilizing growth.

The IMF believes that the Asia-Pacific region will remain the world's most dynamic region with the strongest economic growth momentum in the future.

It projects that Asia will grow by 5.4 per cent in 2019 and 2020, largely unchanged from its previous estimation in October, Rhee said. He noted that the region continues to account for more than 60 per cent, with China accounting for more than 30 per cent, of global growth.

According to the newly released April 2019 World Economic Outlook, the IMF on Tuesday revised up the 2019 growth projection for China to 6.3 per cent, up 0.1 percentage point from its previous estimation in January.

The IMF also called on Asia-Pacific countries to take active measures to address medium- and long-term challenges, such as declining labour productivity and ageing populations, and to ensure long-term sustainable economic development by investing more in labour markets, education and innovation.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday said the outlook for Asia-Pacific economic growth remains "relatively stable", but downside risks have increased, highlighting trade deceleration, higher oil prices and the volatility of the global financial market.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday said the outlook for Asia-Pacific economic growth remains "relatively stable", but downside risks have increased, highlighting trade deceleration, higher oil prices and the volatility of the global financial market. In a press conference at the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank held in Washington DC, US, Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific department, said trade policy uncertainty could pose a renewed threat to growth. Rhee suggested countries should adopt appropriate macro-control policies to maintain economic growth and stabilize employment. He pointed out that recent fiscal stimulus policies put forward by economies such as China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will play an important role in stabilizing growth. The IMF believes that the Asia-Pacific region will remain the world's most dynamic region with the strongest economic growth momentum in the future. It projects that Asia will grow by 5.4 per cent in 2019 and 2020, largely unchanged from its previous estimation in October, Rhee said. He noted that the region continues to account for more than 60 per cent, with China accounting for more than 30 per cent, of global growth. According to the newly released April 2019 World Economic Outlook, the IMF on Tuesday revised up the 2019 growth projection for China to 6.3 per cent, up 0.1 percentage point from its previous estimation in January. The IMF also called on Asia-Pacific countries to take active measures to address medium- and long-term challenges, such as declining labour productivity and ageing populations, and to ensure long-term sustainable economic development by investing more in labour markets, education and innovation.

IMF warns of increased downside risks for Asian economy

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WION Business News | Global economic outlook getting `gloomier`, says IMF

Asian Economies to contract first time in 60 years

Global Markets: Asian shares lower as investors book decade-end profits

IMF warns of increased downside risks for Asian economy