European stocks sag, with miners down as June trading gets underway

European stocks struggled at early trade on Wednesday, with mining shares lower after lackluster Chinese manufacturing data prompted worries about the health of the world’s second-largest economy.

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.7% to 345.26, with only the health care and consumer goods sectors showing small gains. The pan-European index on Tuesday fell 0.8%, breaking a five-session winning streak. But it ended May higher by 1.8%, for its best month since November.

The basic materials SXPR group lost ground after the release of Chinese manufacturing data. The official purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing was unchanged at 50.1 in May, while the private Caixin index slipped to 49.2 from 49.4 in April.

Platinum producer Anglo American PLC fell 4.3%, Boliden SE moved 1.7% lower, and ArcelorMittal SA was off 0.9%.

China is a key consumer of industrial and precious metals.

“China has expressed a desire to move to a consumer-led economy, but these figures pose a problem for the country as it struggles to boost the non-manufacturing sector,” said Ana Thaker, market economist at PhillipCapital UK, in a note.

“China has been unusually quiet of late, with all eyes on Brexit and the FOMC this month. However, the importance of growth in the country for the global economy should not be underestimated,” she added.

Movers: Advancers in Europe included Royal Ahold NV Shares rose 2.9% as the Dutch supermarket operator posted a 13% rise in first-quarter profit to 241 million euros ($269 million) on a 4% rise in sales. Ahold is moving closer to finishing its merger with Belgium’s Delhaize Group DELB, +2.78% . Delhaize shares gained 2.2%.

Indexes: Germany’s DAX 30 lost 0.5% at 10,215.27, and France’s CAC 40 shed 0.4% at 4,487.87.

Italy’s FTSE MIB FTSEMIB,   fell 0.6% to 17,920.52, while Spain’s IBEX 35 dropped 1% to 8,944.70. The U.K’s FTSE 100 was down 0.6% to 6,195.94.

The euro was up 0.2% at $1.1154.

Data: A final reading of eurozone manufacturing PMI came in at 51.5 for May, unchanged from the flash estimate, according to Markit.

Source: MarketWatch