World shares mixed as China reports so-so economic data

Shares rose in Europe after a mixed session in Asia on Monday as China reported a variety of data that painted a complicated picture of its recovery from the pandemic.

The passage of a $1.9 trillion aid package for the US economy has added to investor confidence that the US and global economy will likely experience a strong recovery from the pandemic in the second half of the year but also potentially increase the rate of inflation.

Germany's DAX climbed 0.3% to 14,546.95 and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.5% to 6,075.54. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 6,789.86. US futures pointed to an upbeat start, with the contract for the S&P 500 up 0.3% and that for the Dow industrials 0.4% higher.

Markets got a mixed message from the data out of China, which has led the global recovery, reopening earlier than other countries from coronavirus shut-downs that emerged in the central city of Wuhan in early 2020.

Retail sales jumped nearly 36% year-on-year in January-February from a year earlier.