ASX set to slide as European stocks fall; China skips rate cut

European stocks fell as bond yields climbed, and Chinese equities dipped after the country’s central bank unnerved investors by skipping an expected rate cut. US markets were closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. European markets took centre stage with Wall Street closed. Credit: Getty Images Europe’s STOXX 600 index was last down 0.5 per cent, taking its fall for the year to around 1 per cent, after a 13 per cent increase in 2023. Britain’s FTSE 100 was 0.4 per cent lower and Germany’s DAX was off by 0.5 per cent. The Australian sharemarket is set to retreat, with futures at 5.02am AEDT pointing to a fall of 21 points, or 0.3…