China markets fall on weak manufacturing gauge

Chinese markets sank Tuesday after a gauge of the country’s manufacturing sector fell, Financial Times reported. The HSBC preliminary purchasing managers’ index fell to 50.5 in April from 51.6 the month prior and missed Bloomberg’s analyst consensus of 51.5. The reading above 50 indicates that growth in the sector accelerated in April, but not as fast as in March. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 2%, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.2%. The negative preliminary reading hurts already flagging China stocks. Global fund managers have been selling off China stocks for weeks as the country’s economic growth failed to rebound in the first quarter, pushing Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges to losses for the year.