China growth concerns hobble rally Friday 08:30 BST. Niggling concerns about China's economic growth leave markets struggling to maintain the pace of bullish momentum provided by Wall Street's latest move to record highs. Still, investor sentiment continues to be broadly positive, supported by a belief that the Federal Reserve is in no hurry to begin trimming its asset-purchase programme, and that the policies of most developed-economy central banks remain ultra-accommodative. Also underpinning stock markets are hopes that the second quarter corporate earnings season will be well-received. The next test in that regard are the results from US banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, which publish their figures before the opening bell in New York. US index futures suggest the S&P 500 will ease 1 point from its record close of 1,675 - a level reached after investors interpreted comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke as highly dovish, an inference, indeed, that sparked a global "risk asset" rally. But Friday sees the FTSE Eurofirst 300 up 0.4 per cent and the Asia-Pacific region gaining just 0.1 per cent as traders show caution ahead of GDP numbers out of China, due Monday. The world's second-biggest economy is forecast to be the main contributor to global growth in coming quarters, and so any sign that its expansion is waning can keenly impact investor confidence. The latest concerns stem from the release this week of poor Chinese trade data and comments from Lou Jiwei, the finance minister, that China was aiming for a 7 per cent GDP expansion this year, down from the 7.5 per cent goal set during the national parliament in March. Some traders think Mr Lou may have been trying to prepare the market for disappointing news early next week. Certainly Chinese investors have suddenly become more wary. The Shanghai Composite index is down 1.6 per cent, though whether this reflects genuine concerns about GDP growth or is just profit-taking after a two-day pop of 5.5 per cent is moot. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong, which has also had a sturdy couple of midweek sessions, is down 0.7 per cent and the fretting over reduced Chinese demand is also impacting the commodities sector. Copper, which on Thursday enjoyed a Bernanke-induced bounce of nearly 3 per cent to touch a three-week high of $3.19 a pound, is slipping 1 per cent to $3.15. Brent crude is easing 11 cents to $107.62 a barrel. Wariness over Asia's economic prospects could be seen in the reaction in Singapore to news that the island state's second-quarter GDP grew at an annualised 15.2 per cent from the prior quarter - nearly double the 8.1 per cent consensus forecast. But economists at ANZ said Singapore's GDP figures were far more about volatility than growth, adding that such rapid expansion could be reversed "as soon as next quarter." The Singapore stock market fell 0.4 per cent, after Sydney pared much of its gains to add just 0.2 per cent and Seoul's Kospi lost 0.4 per cent. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 0.2 per cent as the yen steadied around Y99 to the greenback. Elsewhere in currencies, the euro is down 23 pips to $1.3071 as worries about the political situation in Portugal linger, and as the dollar finds its feet after another example of Bernanke-induced selling. The dollar index is up 0.1 per cent, which in turn is helping to hobble gold's recent bullish momentum, the bullion easing $7 to $1,278 an ounce. Fixed-income markets are continuing to reprice expectations for when the Fed will begin to taper its largesse. The yield on the 10-year US government bond is down 2 basis points at 2.55 per cent - still up nearly a full percentage point from levels seen at the start of May, but retreating from the recent two-year high above 2.75 per cent.