The rally for global stock markets, in which the FTSE All World index has risen about 67 per cent since its low in early March, showed signs of running out of steam last week as investors worried about the withdrawal of emergency financial support measures by governments.

Kevin Gaynor of Royal Bank of Scotland says uncertainty about the outlook for the economy will remain high even if the recovery continues, not least because emergency policy decisions have to be unwound.

He warns that lower trend growth rates are likely because basic risk management tells companies to invest less in the presence of uncertainty, so the economy's capital stock grows more slowly.

This week's data releases should bring further evidence of recovery in the manufacturing sector and signs of an improvement in levels of consumer confidence, in spite of rising unemployment.

Eurozone consumer confidence data for September, due out tomorrow, are expected to show a marginal improvement, rising from -22 in August to -21, but further progress will depend on developments in the labour market.

Germany's unemployment rate is expected to increase from 8.3 per cent in August to 8.4 per cent in September in figures due out on Wednesday, but high numbers of people remain on short-shift working arrangements.

Eurozone inflation sank to a record low of -0.7 per cent in July and is expected to remain in negative territory, unchanged from -0.2 per cent in August, in September's data on Wednesday.

Eurozone unemployment, due on Thursday, is seen rising from 9.5 per cent in July to 9.6 per cent in August and a further increase above 10 per cent is thought likely before the end of the year.

Purchasing managers' surveys for September on Thursday could fuel concerns that recovery in manufacturing will not be smooth. The eurozone PMI is expected to be confirmed at 49, below the no-change mark, and UK PMI is seen rising from 49.7 in August to 50.1. Sterling's weakness should boost exports, and global trade flows appear to be recovering as growth gathers momentum across the world.

In the US, the Institute of Supply Management survey is expected to rise from 52.9 in August to 54, the highest since April 2006, as destocking in the manufacturing sector slows.

Personal income and spending data for August on Thursday should show a rise of 1 per cent in spending, mainly from higher car sales under the cash-for-clunkers programme.

US employment data, due on Friday, are expected to show a decline of 188,000 in non-farm payrolls in September following a drop of 216,000 in August.

Job losses have slowed considerably, so the unemployment rate should rise slightly from 9.7 per cent to 9.8 per cent.