source from：WSJ
MARKETS  TODAY'S MARKETS
Stocks Start June Lower on Concerns About China, Commodities
Manufacturing data from the world’s second-biggest economy fail to reassure investors

By RIVA GOLD and  SAUMYA VAISHAMPAYAN
Updated June 1, 2016 9:47 a.m. ET
3 COMMENTS
Stocks fell around the world Wednesday, kicking off June on a downbeat note.

The pullback comes on the heels of gains in May for many indexes. The Dow notched a fourth straight month of gains, while the Stoxx Europe 600 rose for the third month in a row. The Nikkei posted its largest one-month gain since March.

Several events on the horizon, including Thursday’s meeting of OPEC officials, Friday’s update on the U.S. labor market and a coming referendum on U.K. membership in the European Union, are adding to the cautious tone, traders said.

“There’s very little reason to come in and buy risk with both hands,” said John Brady, managing director at futures brokerage R.J. O’Brien.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 113 points, or 0.6%, to 17673. The S&P 500 lost 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.5%.

Shares of financial firms in the S&P 500 led the declines, along with stocks of commodity-sensitive companies as oil prices declined.

U.S. crude oil fell 2.4% to 47.93 dollars a barrel, ahead of weekly U.S. crude inventory data and a meeting of OPEC officials on Thursday.

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.3%, following a downbeat session in Asia.


Investors turned away from the British pound, which fell 0.4% against the dollar, and sought safety following polls showing support for the U.K. to leave the European Union.

“If Britain votes to stay in the European Union and the Fed doesn’t move in June, I think it will be a very strong month,” said Albert Brenner, head of asset allocation for People’s United Wealth Management.

“A lot depends on how the job numbers come out on Friday,” he added.

In other currency moves, the dollar fell 1.4% against the yen to ￥109.20.

The euro was up 0.3% against the dollar at 1.1161 dollars after final eurozone manufacturing PMI data came in unrevised at 51.5.

The European Central Bank is set to conclude a two-day meeting Thursday, but no major change is expected to its 1.8 trillion euros (2 trillion dollars) stimulus package.


Earlier Wednesday, shares in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended a choppy session a touch lower after the latest Chinese manufacturing data came in roughly in line with expectations, but still suggested the country’s economy is struggling to gain momentum.

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index, a gauge of the nation’s factory activity, remained at 50.1 in May, marking a third month above the 50 level that signals expansion. However, the private Caixin manufacturing PMI continued to reflect contraction, falling slightly to 49.2 in May from 49.4 in April.

China’s official nonmanufacturing PMI, also released Wednesday, fell to 53.1 from 53.5 in April.

Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.6% as the yen strengthened, reducing exporters’ price competitiveness and cutting into repatriated profit margins.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also told lawmakers that he would delay a sales-tax increase set for next year, following years of struggle to boost economic growth.

Australian shares fell 1% as commodity prices declined.

Later in the day, investors will eye both the Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers index for manufacturing after factory activity expanded in March and April, and the Federal Reserve’s beige book, a broad snapshot of economy activity.

Investors are also looking ahead to Friday’s final monthly employment reading before the Fed’s June meeting for clues on when the central bank could next lift short-term rates.

“We’ve had better data on the U.S. economy overall,” said Michala Marcussen, economist at Société Générale.

For the U.S. central bank, ”the price tag of waiting too long [to raise rates] has increased, while global financial conditions have not deteriorated,” she said.

—Mayumi Negishi contributed to this article