GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares struggle as Chinese data misses forecasts

* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* China data misses expectations
* Asian shares edge lower in cautious trade
* Treasury yields remain high after 30-year auction

By Stanley White and Lawrence Delevingne
TOKYO/BOSTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Friday
and European stocks were set to open lower after lacklustre
Chinese economic data and worries about a delay in U.S. fiscal
stimulus discouraged some investors from taking on risk.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.14%, although shares in Japan .N225
rose 0.11%.
South Korean stocks .KS11 fell 1.28% after authorities
reported the largest number of new coronavirus cases since
March. Chinese shares .CSI300 rose 0.18% in choppy trade, but a
slower-than-expected rise in industrial production and a
surprise fall in retail sales weighed on investor sentiment.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 EScv1 rose 0.19%.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures STXEc1 were down 0.27%, German DAX
futures FDXc1 fell 0.22%, and FTSE futures FFIc1 fell 0.06%.
Yields on U.S. Treasuries remained elevated after an auction
of 30-year bonds on Thursday was met with weak demand.
Further equity gains are likely to be limited as investors
await progress in negotiations over U.S. economic stimulus,
which is necessary to prevent a nascent recovery in the world's
largest economy from sliding into reverse.
The S&P 500 .SPX ended slightly lower on Thursday after
briefly trading above its record closing high level for a second
day as doubts about U.S. stimulus measures took hold.
"Many say that the best treatment for altitude sickness is
to stop and rest where you are," Rodrigo Catril, Senior FX
Strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney, wrote in a note
about the slight pullback in U.S. stocks and government bonds.
The mood was cautious after Chinese retail sales
unexpectedly fell in July, suggesting domestic demand is still
struggling after the coronavirus outbreak. Some traders stuck to the sidelines before a meeting between
U.S. and Chinese officials about their Phase 1 trade deal on
Saturday. Spot gold XAU= held steady at $1,952.51, close to a record
high set last week in another sign of cautious sentiment.
Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans seeking
unemployment benefits dropped below one million for the first
time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this was not
enough to change economists' views that the jobs market is
faltering. Yields on 30-year U.S. Treasuries US30YT=RR stood at
1.4225% on Friday, close to a five-week high after the
government sold a record amount of 30-year bonds to weak demand
on Thursday.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields traded at 0.7126%, close
to a seven-week high hit on Thursday. Higher yields broadly supported the U.S. dollar, which held
steady at 106.90 yen JPY= and at $1.1812 against the euro
EUR=D3 .
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar AUD=D3 edged lower to
$0.7147 as the weak Chinese data suggested less demand for
Australian commodity exports.
U.S. crude CLc1 rose 0.31% to $42.37 per barrel. Brent
LCOc1 edged 0.33% higher to $45.11 a barrel, but further gains
may be limited by worries about weak global energy demand.

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