Global growth concerns hit world markets

Concerns over a slowdown in the world’s biggest economies hit world markets, with weak indicators out of China and Europe’s financial turmoil unsettling investors ahead of a crucial US jobs report. A survey of China’s manufacturing activity, the purchasing managers’ index, fell to 50.4 points in May, suggesting the sector which has driven growth in the world’s second-largest economy for years, is stagnant.
A similar survey on Europe’s manufacturing sector was even more downbeat, falling to 45.1 points, with the measure for Germany hitting a 35-month low of 45.2. Analysts said the figures suggested the region would experience an even deeper economic downturn than previously forecast. The rising impact on strong economies like Germany might also make them more reluctant to provide bailouts for weaker countries.
Germany’s DAX fell 2.5 percent to 6,110.13, while France’s CAC-40 lost 1.6 percent to 2,968.13 and Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.8 percent to 5,277.56. Asian indexes closed lower, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index down 1.2 percent, and Wall Street was expected to slide on the open. Dow Jones industrial futures fell 0.8 percent to 12,279 and S&P 500 futures lost 1.4 percent at 1,291.50.