Metals, oil, stocks fall; China, Europe growth concerns weigh

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Metals prices hit multi-year lows, and stock markets and oil prices declined on Friday, as weaker-than-expected data from China and the euro zone exacerbated concerns over global economic growth.

Declines in energy and materials shares weighed on U.S. stocks, along with a 1.4 percent drop in the S&P health care index <.SPXHC>. Biogen shares dropped 16.9 ree-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell to percent to $320.11 after it cut its 2015 earnings and revenue forecasts.

Adding to the bearish tone for Wall Street, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is expected to propose nearly doubling the U.S. capital gains tax rate on short-term investments, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell to $5,191.50 a tonne, its cheapest since July 2009, before paring losses to $5,231.

A survey showed Chinese manufacturing contracted by the most in 15 months in July as orders shrank. Worries over demand increased in the world's biggest metals consumer with stockpiles mounting.

The flash Caixin/Markit China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) contracted for a fifth straight month, and faster than economists polled by Reuters had estimated.

Euro zone business activity also started the second half of the year on a less secure footing than expected, hit by Greece's near-bankruptcy. Markit's flash PMI fell to 53.7 this month from June's four-year high of 54.2. A Reuters poll had predicted a more modest dip to 54.0.

MSCI's all-country equities world index <.MIWD00000PUS> was down 0.6 percent, while European shares <.FTEU3> was down 0.6 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 55.26 points, or 0.31 percent, to 17,676.66, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 7.66 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,094.49 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 9.22 points, or 0.18 percent, to 5,137.19.

Amazon.com shares jumped as much as 20.4 percent to a record high of $580.57, a day after the online retailer posted an unexpected quarterly profit.

Among other gainers, British telecom firm Vodafone rose after results that showed improvements across major markets in Germany and Britain.

In the energy market, Brent crude was down 59 cents at $54.68 a barrel, while U.S. crude for September delivery was down 31 cents at $48.14.

"You have ... global crude runs peaking right now. The physical market has done a bit better because European refinery demand has been very strong," Chris Main, an oil strategist at Citi, said. "So this is as good as it gets for crude demand, but we?ve had this wealth of supply come down."

U.S. Treasury debt prices drifted higher as investors sought safety in government bonds after a softer-than-expected U.S. housing report. U.S. 30-year bonds were up 6/32 in price to yield 2.972 percent.

U.S. DOLLAR EDGES UP, AUSSIE DOWN

The dollar index <.DXY> trimmed its gains against a basket of currencies after the unexpected fall in domestic new home sales raised doubts about the strength of the U.S. economy and whether the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates by year-end.

The dollar index was last up 0.2 percent.

The Australian dollar, often used as a liquid proxy for China trades, hit a six-year trough of $0.7269 . Slowing Chinese growth means less demand for commodities such as iron ore, one of Australia's chief exports. The recent decline in a wide range of commodities, including oil, has weighed on currencies like the Canadian and Australian dollars.

Gold slid more than 1 percent to its lowest since early 2010 on Friday, on course for its biggest weekly loss in nine months. [GOL/]

(Additional reporting by Marius Zaharia and Amanda Cooper in London; Saikat Chatterjee in Hong Kong, Patrick Graham and John Geddie in London; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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