Manufacturing figures keep stocks low

Manufacturing figures for May showed Germany at a three- month low, while a reading for French manufacturing, although at a 12-month high, was still in contraction. Frankfurt’s Dax was slightly ahead, as was the Cac 40 in Paris.

In Britain, the sector managed a slight uptick after April’s seven-month low but the lackluster performance threw into doubt hopes for a rebound for overall UK growth after a slowdown to 0.3 per cent at the start of 2015.

The Dublin exchange was closed for the bank holiday.

LONDON

Manufacturing data left London’s blue-chip share index low, putting paid to an initial rally which had sent it above the 7,000 mark in early trading.

The FTSE 100 Index began the session positively, following Asian markets higher after a weak Chinese reading prompted hopes of more stimulus measures for the world’s second biggest economy. However sluggish UK and Europe manufacturing data proved a drag on sentiment, leaving the index down 30.9 points.

Among the FTSE 100 climbers was state-backed Lloyds Banking Group, adding 1 per cent after chancellor George Osborne announced the extension of a trading plan to sell down the taxpayer stake in the bailed-out lender by a further six months. Lloyds rose 0.9p to 88.7p.

AstraZeneca enjoyed an early rally after analyst optimism over the latest news on its drugs pipeline, but later slipped back, closing down 6p to 4366.5p.

Commodities were lower in the wake of the weak Chinese data, with Fresnillo off 5p, to 754.5p, Anglo American down 23p, to 1003p and Glencore shedding 6.2p, to 281.75p.

On the FTSE 250, semiconductor firm Imagination Technologies were up almost 7 per cent on chatter that it could be a takeover target. The stock climbed 14.5p to 233.7p.

EUROPE

Like AstraZeneca,

Roche Holding

climbed more than 1.6 per cent after positive updates on cancer drugs.

Italian shares added 0.7 after regional elections over the weekend.

The Swiss Market Index rose 0.7 per cent and France’s Cac 50 Index gained 0.6 per cent, after both gauges fell the most in a month on Friday.

The Stoxx 600 trimmed gains of as much as 0.9 per cent after Markit economics data showed its purchasing managers index for the region rose to 52.2 in May from 52 in April.

The European gauge slid 1.9 per cent last week, trimming its monthly advance to 1 per cent, as concern grew that Greece may not reach a deal with creditors and that the US economic recovery is faltering.

Deutsche Annington Immobilien jumped 5.9 per cent after Germany's largest publicly traded owner of homes raised its 2015 profit forecast. Vestas Wind Systems slid 3.3 per cent after Citigroup lowered its rating on the stock.

Greece’s ASE Index posted its first back-to-back monthly gains in more than a year and investors kept pouring money into a fund tracking the shares, sending its market value to a record. The Greek stock market was closed for a holiday.

NEW YORK

US stocks climbed after data on manufacturing helped allay concerns that an economic slump will continue past the first quarter, while investors watched for progress in Greece. Consumer discretionary companies gained despite tepid spending by shoppers.

Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 3.4 per cent to lead healthcare shares higher. Altera rallied 6 per cent after Intel agreed to buy the company for $16.7 billion. Energy companies declined with oil.

Manufacturing expanded more than forecast in May as orders grew at the fastest pace in five months, indicating the industry is starting to emerge from a first-quarter slump.

An earlier report showed consumer purchases unexpectedly stalled in April, raising the risk the biggest part of the economy may take time to gain momentum after a slow start to the year. – Additional reporting PA/ Bloomberg