Global stocks, oil prices decline; German growth lifts euro

World stocks were down for the fourth day in a row on Tuesday, but strong economic growth in Germany boosted the euro to an almost three-week high.

Wall Street was lower on weak oil prices, uncertainty about U.S. tax policy and the economy`s ability to deal with more interest rate hikes. European stocks fell to a two-month low.

U.S. Treasury two-year note yields climbed to a nine-year peak while long-dated debt yields fell, flattening the yield curve flattened for a second straight day, while investors braced for a Federal Reserve December rate hike.

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In Germany a 0.8-percent third-quarter growth reading beat forecasts and showed the economy expanding at annualised rates of more than 3 percent.

"It`s been a euro trade today, and it`s stronger against just about everything," Brad Bechtel, managing director FX at Jefferies in New York, said. "The numbers out of Germany were pretty good last night."

The dollar index <.dxy> fell 0.45 percent, with the euro up 0.81 percent to $1.1759.

On Wall Street the defensive utilities sector had the strongest showing while the energy sector was among the weakest.

"You`re at the end of the earnings season, economic data is all distorted because of the hurricanes, I don`t think there is going to be any clear picture until we get a firm yes or no for the tax bill," Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.dji> fell 55.29 points, or 0.24 percent, to 23,384.41, the S&P 500 <.spx> lost 7.42 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,577.42 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> dropped 19.04 points, or 0.28 percent, to 6,738.56.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.fteu3> lost 0.57 percent and MSCI`s gauge of stocks across the globe <.miwd00000pus> shed 0.18 percent.

Monetary policy was also on traders` minds with the heads of the U.S., European, British and Japanese central banks attending a European Central Bank conference in Frankfurt.

The U.S. two-year yield hit a nine-year peak just shy of 1.7 percent, up from Monday`s 1.687 percent.

Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 5/32 in price to yield 2.3842 percent, from 2.4 percent late on Monday.

The mood in Asia was gloomy after China`s retail sales in industrial output data missed market expectations.

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> dipped 0.4 percent in its third consecutive day of losses. Japan`s Nikkei <.n225> was unchanged after four sessions of losses.

Oil declined on Tuesday for a third day as evidence of rising U.S. output and a gloomier outlook for demand growth in a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) weighed on prices.

U.S. crude fell 2.52 percent to $55.33 per barrel and Brent was last at $61.51, down 2.61 percent on the day.

Gold inched down to $1,272.50 an ounce.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)