(Adds details on Huawei extradition, graphic, U.S. futures)
* European shares follow Asia lower, UBS results disappoint
* U.S. futures down after Wall Street was closed on Monday
* Brexit plans remain uncertain but UK employment datastrong
* IMF downgrades world growth forecasts again
* Asian stock markets: By Marc JonesLONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Pessimism about global growthdrove down world shares and commodity markets on Tuesday andleft investors seeking refuge in the dollar, government bondsand gold.The International Monetary Fund's warning of a darkeningoutlook on Monday after China's confirmation of itsslowest growth rate in nearly 30 years and amid morehead-scratching over Brexit continued to weigh on the mood.European shares had followed Asia into the red withdisappointing earnings from Swiss bank UBS also addingextra gloom after Europe's banking sector saw nearly 30percent wiped off its value last year.In its World Economic Outlook report, the IMF predicted theglobal economy would grow at 3.5 percent in 2019 and 3.6 percentin 2020, down 0.2 and 0.1 percentage point respectively fromlast October's forecasts. The downgrade mainly reflected signs of weakness in Europe,with Germany hurt by new car emission rules, Italy under marketpressure due to Rome's recent budget standoff with the EuropeanUnion and Brexit hanging over the bloc as well."We have seen a little bit of a pull back, but whether it'sthe IMF growth downgrade or China related is neither here northere," said CMC Markets' senior analyst Michael Hewson.He pointed to the strong and sudden rebound that marketslike Germany's Dax have seen since the end of Decemberas well as other major global indexes. "We are at the top end of the range for this year and giventhe global uncertainty, investors are probably taking the viewthat it is probably wise to take a bit of profit off the table."Futures markets were pointing to a weak start for the UnitedStates later with falls of 0.8 percent for the S&P 500 andnearly 1 percent for the Nasdaq seen . Another development nibbling at sentiment was news that theUnited States plans to proceed with the formal extradition fromCanada of Chinese tech giant Huawei executive MengWanzhou. Meng, who is also the daughter of Huawei's founderRen Zhengfei, was arrested in early December at the request ofthe United States over alleged violations of sanctions on Iran.She was released on bail and is due in court in Vancouver onFeb. 6.Asia's overnight losses had been led by Chinese shares, withthe blue-chip index off 1.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei skidded 0.5 percent too, while Hong Kong andSydney closed down 0.8 and 0.5 percent .In another sign of risk aversion, the Australian dollar , often used as a liquid proxy for China investments,eased 0.4 percent to $0.7123, putting it on track for a thirdstraight session of losses.The same worries had also pushed the New Zealand dollar down for a seventh session and copper, which is used ineverything from electrical wiring and water pipes to cars,drifting lower in the metals markets.BREXIT PLANSThe dollar held at a near three-week high asinvestors sought the relative safety of the U.S. currency. That kept the euro pegged back at 1.1360 andreapplied pressure on the main emerging market currenciesfollowing a decent start to the year for most of them.Sterling was a shade firmer at $1.2910 after datashowed British workers' pay growth hit a new 10-year high andemployment had grown by much more than expected in the threemonths to the end of November.
Otherwise traders were still waiting to see whether UK PrimeMinister Theresa May can push her Brexit plans through thecountry's bitterly divided parliament. May had offered tweaks on Monday by seeking furtherconcessions from the European Union on a backup plan to avoid ahard border between the British-administered province ofNorthern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
But she had also refused to rule out leaving the EU at theend of March without any deal. "Any upside for sterling in the near term may be limited,"said Capital Economics analyst Liam Peach. "Uncertainty wouldcontinue during the extended negotiations and there is noguarantee that it would last for only a short period of time."There was demand too for the safe-haven yen with theJapanese currency last at 109.40 per dollar. Against a basket ofcurrencies, the dollar was barely changed at 96.393 .In commodities, the global growth worries pulled oil priceslower with Brent down 55 cents at $62.19 and U.S. crudefutures off 39 cents at $53.41. Euro zone government bond yields also fell, with Germany's10-year yields down at 0.22 percent from Friday'sone-month high of 0.28 percent, and Spain's helped to a nearsix-month low by record demand at a new bond sale. The European Central Bank holds its first meeting of theyear on Thursday.<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Asia stock markets Asia-Pacific valuations Bouncebackability ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Marc Jones; Additional reporting by Swati Pandeyin Sydney; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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