Disappointing corporate earnings and consumer confidence data helped pull the rug from under US and European equity markets yesterday as investors' recent appetite for risk finally showed signs of faltering.

令人失望的公司盈利和消费者信心指数，令美欧股市昨日下挫，投资者近期的风险偏好终于出现了动摇迹象。

But analysts suggested that the underlying mood remained cautiously optimistic given the positive effect of recent earnings releases and signs that Asia was recovering faster than Western economies.

但分析师指出，鉴于最近一波业绩发布的积极效应，以及亚洲各经济体复苏速度快于西方的各种迹象，市场基本情绪仍保持谨慎乐观。

Upbeat comments from central bank officials in Australia and China about their countries' economies underpinned the positive view of the region.

澳大利亚和中国的央行官员针对本国经济的乐观评论，支持了人们对亚太地区的积极看法。

“Investors continue to see the glass as half-full, despite fears of a liquidity-driven asset bubble in China and some analytical question marks over how comparable preliminary second-quarter Asian GDP growth figures are to Western statistics,” said Lena Komileva, head of G7 market economics at Tullett Prebon.

德利万邦(Tullett Prebon)的七国集团(G7)市场经济主管莉娜•科米历娃(Lena Komileva)表示：“投资者仍然把杯子看作是半满的，尽管他们对中国由流动性驱动的资产泡沫感到担忧，而且在亚洲第二季度GDP增长的初步数据与西方数据的可比性方面，存在一些分析层面的疑问。”

However, the mood soured somewhat as US economic figures highlighted worries that the American consumer might be the weak link in the tentative upturn.

不过，市场情绪出现了一些恶化，美国经济数据凸显出，人们担心美国消费者也许是本轮试探性反弹的薄弱环节。

The Conference Board's index of US consumer confidence fell to 46.6 this month from 49.3 in June, marking a two-month reversal of a prior three-month surge from February's record low.

衡量美国消费者信心的大企业联合会(Conference Board)指数从6月的49.3下降至本月的46.6，标志着连续2个月的逆转趋势，此前该指数自2月跌至创纪录低点后连续3个月大幅上扬。

“Expectations jumped prematurely earlier this year as an equity rally, low energy prices and hope of help from Washington buoyed moods,” said Adam York, economist at Wells Fargo Securities. “Now it seems we have a renewed sinking feeling.”

富国证券(Wells Fargo Securities)经济学家亚当•约克(Adam York)表示：“今年早些时候，预期过早飙升，当时股市反弹、低能源价格和对华盛顿出手相助的希望，都提振了情绪。”“而今我们似乎再次陷入了低落的情绪。”

The data overshadowed news that US house prices in May had risen from the previous month for the first time in nearly three years – offering further evidence of stabilisation in the US housing market.

上述数据令以下消息黯然失色：5月份美国住宅价格近3年来首次出现环比上升，为美国住宅市场正在企稳的观点提供了进一步证据。

Equities in the US and Europe responded by retreating from eight-month highs struck on Monday. By midday in New York, the S&P 500 was down 1 per cent, while the pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 index fell 1 per cent. In London, the FTSE 100 failed to achieve a record-breaking 12-session run of gains.

受此影响，美国和欧洲股市从周一触及的8个月高点有所回落。截至纽约午盘，标准普尔500指数(S&P 500)下跌1%，泛欧富时Eurofirst 300指数(FTSE Eurofirst 300)下跌1%。在伦敦，富时100指数(FTSE 100)未能创下连续12个交易日上涨的纪录。

Tokyo also showed signs of fatigue as the Nikkei 225 Average halted a nine-day winning streak to end fractionally lower – although most other Asian markets reached fresh multi-month highs.

东京也表现出疲倦迹象，日经225平均指数(Nikkei 225 Average)结束了连续9日的上涨行情，收盘略有下跌，尽管亚洲其它许多股市创下了数月来的新高。

译者/章晴