* July PMI in China curbs risk sentiment
* Commodities weaken, crude extends losses
* Dollar rebounds from weak U.S. wages data
* ISM data in focus
* Greek stocks slump 17 percent, others in Europe steady
By Marc Jones
LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Weak data from China helped push
oil prices to their lowest in six months on Monday, knocking the
Canadian dollar, and sent Asian stocks close to their 2015 lows.
But futures markets pointed to major share indices making a
steady start to August. The S&P 500 ESc1 , Dow Jones Industrial
1YMc1 and Nazdaq NQc1 markets all looked set to open little
changed .N , shrugging off the troubles of Greece whose stock
market slumped as it reopened after being shut for five weeks.
Oil's troubles sent Canada's dollar to its lowest in more
than a decade as Wall Street waited for manufacturing data after
some soft pre-market consumption and inflation data
ID:nLNN3JEBDW added to Friday's weaker-than-expected wage
figures. ECONG7
Data overnight showed China's factory activity contracted by
the most in two years ID:nS7N0XJ01D , feeding a three-month-old
sell-off in commodity and emerging markets.
Brent oil fell to $51 a barrel, its lowest since the end of
January. Industrial metal copper CMCU3 dropped to its weakest
in six years and gold dipped to $1,093 an ounce XAU= after its
worst month in two years. GOL/ MEL/ O/R
"It's just very, very poor sentiment across the commodities
sectors at the moment," said Nic Brown, head of commodities
research at Natixis in London.
"While concerns about China remain uppermost in the market's
mind and we are sitting here waiting for the first Fed rate
hike, it just doesn't want to go up."
In Athens, stocks .ATG plunged 17 percent as the market
reopened. The euro EUR= and lower-rated government bonds also
saw some mild selling. GVD/EUR
But overall euro zone factory activity grew faster than
previously thought in July. ID:nL9N0YN00C The Netherlands,
Spain and Italy all reported healthy growth - Italy's expansion
was its best in more than four years.
"Policymakers will be reassured by the robust growth rates
seen in these countries and the resilience of the manufacturing
sector as a whole," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at
survey compiler Markit. "Growth is likely to pick up again now
that Greece has jumped its latest hurdle."
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 was 0.8 percent
higher by 1245 GMT. Gains of 1 and 0.7 percent in Frankfurt
.GDAXI and Paris FCHI were spurred on by upbeat results from
HSBC HSBA.L , Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) CBKG.DEHSBC and Heineken HEIN.AS
and compensated for a flat London FTSE .FTSE as its mining
companies and oil firms suffered. .SXPP .EU
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Global assets in 2015 http://link.reuters.com/dub25t
Chinese stocks http://link.reuters.com/qan35w
European bourses in 2015 http://link.reuters.com/pap87v
Currencies vs dollar http://link.reuters.com/tak27s
World interest rates: http://link.reuters.com/xyb96s
Oil prices http://link.reuters.com/beb23v
Commodities performance http://link.reuters.com/rac73w
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
GREAT FALL OF CHINA
China's poor data overnight had made it another difficult
day for Asian markets.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS fell more than 1 percent to take it close to
early July's lowest level of the year. ID:nL3N10E01I
Shanghai shares shed 1.1 percent .SSEC , Japan's Nikkei
.N225 slid 0.2 percent and South Korea's Kospi .KS11 fell 1
percent. Australian stocks .AXJO dropped 0.4 percent.
Net foreign selling from emerging Asia has reached nearly
$10 billion over the past two months. Only India has seen minor
inflows.
Russia's rouble racked up some of the day's biggest losses.
It fell 1.4 percent to its weakest since mid-March RUB=
following an interest rate cut last week and as oil, Russia's
biggest export, slipped. EMRG/FRX
The dollar began to firm again after sliding on Friday's
U.S. wage growth data. Its broader trend has been upwards, after
the Federal Reserve last week left the door open for a rate
increase in September, and it was last at 124.14 yen JPY= and
$1.0970 to the euro EUR= . ID:L1N1092AW
The dollar has gained 7.75 percent so far this year against
the world's main trading currencies .DXY , after a 12.8 percent
rise last year.
Its "recent rally may just be getting started," according to
research from the BlackRock Investment Institute.
"Since the 1970s when the Bretton Woods fixed-currency
regime ended and currencies began floating, a typical dollar
rally has lasted roughly six to seven years," said Russ
Koesterich, BlackRock global investment strategist.