Swiss bank Julius Baer upbeat about U.S., Japanese stock markets (2)

CHINESE ECONOMY

As for the Chinese economy, Kelvin Wong, the bank's equity analyst covering China and Hong Kong markets, said the economy has passed through its weakest point, but still faces downward pressures.

China's economic growth decelerated to 7.5 percent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, down from 7.7 percent in the first quarter, according to data from the government's statistics bureau.

The Swiss bank said it expects the country's economic growth for this year and next to be around 7 percent, which would be the slowest since 1990.

The Hong Kong stock market will fare better than its mainland counterpart in the second half, with the Hang Seng Index fluctuating between 19,000 and 23,000 and the Shanghai Composite Index hovering between 2,000 and 2,300, according to Wong.

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