Miners push stocks lower

On Thursday the dollar declined and Treasury yields edged lower as President Donald Trump challenged China over what he called unfair trade practices. European stocks fell after a volatile session in Asian markets and bund yields rose after the European Commission lifted growth forecasts.

Basic-resources shares weighed on the Stoxx Europe 600 index following a decline in industrial-metals prices. The EC’s bullish outlook for the region’s economy failed to lift stocks as disappointing results from companies including Siemens AG and Vestas Wind Systems A/S added to the malaise. Equities in Asia earlier rose above their 2007 peak before an intraday reversal in Japanese shares on technically-driven trading pared gains in the region. Sterling edged lower as Brexit talks resumed, while oil halted a twoday drop.

Investor attention has focused on Asia this week, where Trump has embarked on an 11-day tour. In Beijing Thursday, he said China is taking advantage of American workers and companies with unfair trade practices, but he blamed his predecessors in the White House rather than China for allowing the massive U.S. trade deficit to grow.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 0.5 percent as of 11:25 a.m. London time, the lowest in two weeks. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index decreased 0.2 percent. Germany’s DAX Index fell 0.6 percent to the lowest in more than a week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.2 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.1 percent to the highest in about 10 years. The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.2 percent to the highest in more than six years. Futures on the S&P 500 Index sank 0.2 percent to 2,585.00.

West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.3 percent to $56.99 a barrel. Gold gained 0.3 percent to $1,285.46 an ounce, the highest in three weeks. Copper fell 0.6 percent to $3.08 a pound, the lowest in a month.