DJIA down 221.05 points (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - New York, 03 Jun - US shares were trading mostly lower after data showed that manufacturing activity unexpectedly fell in May.

According to the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index fell to 48.7 in May from 49.2 in April, while economists were expecting a reading of 49.8.

Several stock prices were affected due to a technical issue at the New York Stock Exchange.

Wall Street ended the week on a brighter note, closing out May with good gains to rack up its sixth positive month in seven amid rising hopes an interest rate cut may be nearer than expected.

In the week ahead, investors will be focusing on the payrolls report due out on Friday, while updates on job openings and private wage growth will also be high up on the agenda.

Strong labor market readings have stoked concern the Federal Reserve may have to keep interest rates higher for longer as it strives to bring inflation down.

Last week a raft of Fed policymakers warned they needed to see hard evidence pricing pressure was trending down towards the central bank's 2% target before they could entertain the idea of easing monetary policy.

But the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation data on Friday indicated pricing pressure could be showing signs of easing.

On the stocks front, the earnings season is in its final stages with results this week from names that include Lululemon Athletica, Dollar Tree and CrowdStrike.

In today's activity, shares in chipmakers Nvidia and AMD were higher after they presented next-generation AI chips.

Also on the data front, US construction spending in April fell 0.1% from the previous month, missing expectations for a 0.2% rise.

At 1619 GMT, the Dow Jones was losing 221.05 points, or 0.57%, at 38,465.27 points.

The S&P 500 was 7.60 points, or 0.14%, lower at 5,269.91 points.

The Nasdaq was gaining 51.86 points, or 0.31%, at 16,787.66 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 03-06-24 17:25:02 (0506) 5 NNNN