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AP
The world's largest economies gave us updates on their local manufacturing industries.
First the scoreboard:
Dow: 12,871, -8.7, -0.0%

S&P 500: 1,365, +3.3, +0.2%

NASDAQ: 2,951, +16.1, +0.5%
And now the top stories:

  • Late Saturday night, the Chinese government published its official manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI).  It fell to 50.2 from 50.4 in May.  Economists were expecting worse, but a decline is nevertheless not great news. China is the second largest economy in the world and it's the world's most important source of growth these days.  Key measures including orders and employment all signaled contraction. 

  • The unofficial Chinese PMI number, which is published by HSBC, slipped to 48.2, which was just slightly better the 48.1 that economists were expecting.  The number signaled the fourth straight month of job declines.  Input costs were also down. So there was an upside to this, argued HSBC economist Hongbin Qu.  "But as inflation eases sharply, Beijing has plenty of room and policy ammunition to avoid a hard landing."

  • The euro area didn't have much good news.  Italy, France, Germany, and Spain all announced PMI numbers below 50, which means their manufacturing industries are shrinking.  Not surprisingly, the most disappointing number came out of Greece; their PMI number plummeted to 40.1 thanks to uncertainty tied to the country's ever-changing leadership.

  • Ireland proved to be a surprising bright spot.  Their PMI number jumped to 53.1.

  • For the most part, other countries announced declines in their PMIs, but those declines were largely in line with dismal expectations. South Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Vietnam all sent contraction signals.  

  • Unfortunately, the U.S. announced an incredibly disappointing drop in manufacturing sentiment.  The June ISM number plunged to 49.7 from 53.5 a month ago.  Economists were expect a more modest decline to 52.0.  New orders and prices completely collapsed.