China's factory sector struggled to gain speed in September while Japanese inflation went backwards in August despite the best efforts of policymakers, underscoring the limits of stimulus in reviving world growth. [...]

The U.S. economy also looked to have bounced back in the third quarter, while a string of data showed Europe weathered Britain's Brexit vote better than many had feared. [...]

The limits of policy stimulus were all to evident in Japan where core consumer prices fell 0.5 percent in August from a year earlier, the largest drop since March 2013.

The data seemed to mock the Bank of Japan's recent pledge not only to boost inflation to 2 percent but to lift it above that, so far unreachable, target for a sustained period.