Stock market today: World shares retreat, though China stocks are lifted by new property measures

World shares were mostly lower on Friday, though Chinese stocks reversed earlier losses following the announcement of fresh measures to revive the ailing property market.

U.S. futures were little changed, with the contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average near 40,000 after it topped that level for the first time on Thursday.

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX lost 0.5% to 18,648.35 and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.5% to 8,147.13. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.3% to 8,413.99.

China’s central bank said Friday that it was reducing required down payments for housing loans and cutting interest rates for first and second home purchases, among other moves. The announcements came after officials in Beijing reported persisting weakness in the economy, especially in the real estate industry.

The government was due to hold a news conference on property policies later Friday.