* U.S. stocks lower in early trading after commodities fall
* Copper hits lowest since July 2009
* Report shows unexpected fall in U.S. new home sales
(Adds U.S. market trading, changes byline, dateline, previous
LONDON)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, July 24 (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 BIIB.O shares dropped 16.9 ree-month
copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 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 CMCU3 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.
ID:nL3N1032YR
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 AMZN.O 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 VOD.L
rose after results that showed improvements across major markets
in Germany and Britain. ID:nL5N1040T6
In the energy market, Brent crude LCOc1 was down 59 cents
at $54.68 a barrel, while U.S. crude for September delivery
CLc1 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 US30YT=RR 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 AUD=D4 . 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 XAU= slid more than 1 percent to its lowest since
early 2010 on Friday, on course for its biggest weekly loss in
nine months. GOL/