China's GDP growth slows but retail sales jump (by Michael Kitchen)
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- China's third-quarter gross domestic product rose 9.1% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Tuesday. The result slowed from the second quarter's 9.5% gain and was slightly below the median forecast of 9.2% in separate Dow Jones Newswires and Reuters surveys. Industrial production for September rose 13.8% year-on-year, accelerating from 13.5% in August and above a 13.3% prediction in the Dow Jones Newswires and Reuters surveys. September retail sales rose 17.7%, beating a Reuters forecast of 17% growth. Chinese stocks added to losses following the data, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) down 3.2% -- having traded down 2.9% ahead of the release -- and the Shanghai Composite (CN:SHCOMP) losing 1.2%.