Stock prices fell on major world markets yesterday after disappointing Chinese and European factory data, while the US dollar slipped on fresh doubts about a Federal Reserve interest rate rise in June.

Oil prices tumbled on expectations major oil producers would not reach a deal to freeze output at an Opec meeting today. US Treasury bond and German Bund yields fell on renewed bids for safer assets after the drop in stock and commodity prices.

“We are in a global low-growth environment. The latest manufacturing numbers are a confirmation of that,” said Omar Aguilar, chief investment officer of equities with Charles Schwab Investment Management in New York.

Earlier yesterday, a survey showed China’s factory activity shrank for a 15th straight month in May as new orders fell, while a gauge on eurozone manufacturing activity declined to a three-month low last month. US manufacturers fared better than their overseas counterparts as they unexpectedly reported slightly faster growth in May according to the Institute for Supply Management, but data from Markit showed US factory growth slipping to its lowest since 2009.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 51.39 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 17,735.81, the S&P 500 declined 3.74 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 2,093.22 and the Nasdaq Composite de-creased 2.96 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 4,945.09.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 fell one per cent, led by the resources sector. Toyko’s Nikkei ended down 1.6 per cent. The MSCI world index, which tracks shares in 45 countries, shed 0.2 per cent.