Global stocks slide as Germany's economy draws closer to a recession

• Global stock markets are broadly lower Thursday as ongoing trade tensions, poor industrial data out of Germany, and an upcoming policy announcement from the Bank of England influence stocks.
• Moves so far are small, with Europe's biggest faller on the day losing just 0.3% as of 9.15 a.m. in London (4.15 a.m. in New York), just over an hour after markets opened.
• Markets in Asia largely remain closed after the Chinese New Year. Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwan stocks are all still closed.

Global stock markets are broadly lower Thursday as ongoing trade tensions, poor industrial data out of Germany, and an upcoming policy announcement from the Bank of England influence stocks ahead of the weekend.

While markets in Asia largely remain closed after the Chinese New Year, virtually all European stock markets have lost at least some ground Thursday, while futures markets point to falls for all three major US stock indexes later in the day.

Moves so far are small, with Europe's biggest faller on the day losing just 0.3% as of 9.15 a.m. GMT (4.15 a.m. ET), just over an hour after markets opened.

Here's how things look

• European stock markets are marginally lower on the day, with Germany's DAX down close to 0.3%, marking itself as the biggest faller.
• That followed news of a shock fall in industrial output in Europe's largest economy. Output fell 0.4% in December, federal statistics authority Destatis said. Analysts had forecast a 0.9% jump compared to November. Such data add to fears that the Germany economy is heading toward recession.
• In the UK, the FTSE 100 is a touch higher, trading 0.1% up at 7,180 points, with the Bank of England set to announce its latest monetary policy decisions later in the day. The central bank is almost certain to leave policy unchanged, but is expected to provide an update on its plans for no deal Brexit, having previously warned of a deep recession in such an event.
• "This is probably the most challenging time for Bank of England Governor Mark Carney who is faced with a slowing economy, and risk of a disorderly Brexit," Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM said in an email.
• US futures point to minor falls on the day, with the Nasdaq looking to be the biggest loser, dropping around 0.25% at the open. The S&P 500 is set for a 0.2% fall, while the Dow Jones could lose 0.1%.
• Markets remain closed in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in observance of holidays around the Lunar New Year.
• Twitter announces its earnings today.

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