Global stocks mostly lower amid weak Chinese trade figures

BEIJING (AP) - Global stocks were mixed but the price of oil rose on Wednesday after China reported weak trade figures and the World Bank cut its world growth forecasts.

KEEPING SCORE: Germany's DAX was down 0.4 percent at 10,248 and France's CAC-40 shed 0.3 percent to 4,463. Britain's FTSE 100 was flat at 6,282. On Wall Street, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 were both up 0.2 percent.

CHINESE TRADE: China reported exports and imports contracted again in May in a sign of weak global and domestic demand. Exports fell 4.1 percent from a year earlier compared with April's 1.8 percent decline. Imports shrank 0.4 percent to $131.1 billion, an improvement over the previous month's 10.9 percent fall and a better performance than forecasters expected. The weakness threatens to disrupt Beijing's efforts to lift the economy out of a slump, potentially requiring more stimulus that would set back efforts to reduce reliance on trade and investment.

GLOBAL GROWTH: The World Bank cut its forecast for this year's global economic growth to 2.4 percent from the 2.9 percent pace projected in January. It cited sluggish growth in advanced economies, stubbornly low commodity prices, weak global trade and diminishing capital flows. It said half the revision was prompted by the struggle of commodity-exporting economies to adapt to lower prices for oil and other key commodities.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3 percent to 2,927.16 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1 percent to 21,297.88. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.9 percent to 16,830.92 and Seoul's Kospi advanced 0.8 percent to 2,027.08. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 was nearly flat at 5,370.00 and India's Sensex added 0.1 percent to 27,033.17. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines gained while New Zealand, Thailand and Indonesia declined.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 65 cents to $51.01 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 67 cents on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 76 cents to $52.20 per barrel in London. It jumped 89 cents the previous session.

CURRENCY: The dollar declined to 107.06 yen from Tuesday's 107.31 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1384 from $1.1356.