Activity in China’s manufacturing sector contracted at its fastest pace in three years, sending global shares down and exacerbating fears about a Chinese slowdown that have hit global markets.
The official Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 49.7 in August from the previous month’s reading of 50, the first time since February that the bellwether figure for large industrial enterprises has fallen below 50 — the level that separates expansion from contraction — and its lowest since August 2012.
US stocks tumbled at the open yesterday, with the S&P 500 falling 2.1 per cent and the Nasdaq down 1.7 per cent. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed down