World stock markets fell yesterday after weak data from China reignited worries about a global economic slowdown and oil prices pulled back from recent strong gains.

China’s February trade performance was worse than economists expected, with exports tumbling the most in over six years, days after top leaders sought to reassure investors the outlook for world’s second-largest economy remains solid.

Brent crude futures were at $39.77 a barrel, down $1.07, or 2.6 per cent, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down $1.32, or 3.5 per cent, at $36.58.

The declines come a day after Brent and US oil settled at their highest levels since December.

In the stock market, energy and materials shares led the way lower. The S&P energy index was down 3.2 per cent.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 27.54 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 17,046.41, the S&P 500 had lost 11.4 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 1,990.36 and the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 26.66 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 4,681.60.

US stocks had sold off sharply at the start of the year amid worries about weakness in China and its impact on the global economy, but major indexes retraced much of those losses in recent weeks.

MSCI’s all-country world stock index was down 0.6 per cent, while in Europe, the pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 index ended down 0.9 per cent.

The weak Chinese trade data stoked safe-haven demand for the yen and the Swiss franc as investors shed holdings of stocks and other risky investments on renewed concerns about a slowing global economy.

The dollar was down 0.6 per cent at 112.68 yen, while the Swiss franc was up 0.2 per cent against the greenback at 0.9928 franc.

US Treasury yields fell in line with Japanese yields after the weak Chinese data, which increased demand for safe-haven US government debt.

The benchmark 10-year note was last up 26/32 in price to yield 1.811 per cent, down from 1.904 per cent late on Monday.

Investors are also awaiting tomorrow’s European Central Bank announcement. The bank is expected to announce more monetary stimulus measures to boost ultra-low inflation and sluggish growth in the eurozone.

A small 10-basis point cut to push its deposit rate deeper into negative territory is a foregone conclusion, while some type of adjustment of the bank’s €1.5 trillion asset purchase programme is also near certain.