By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday said its gauge of U.S. manufacturing activity fell to 53.5% last month from 60.4 in April. Any reading over 50 indicates that more manufacturers are expanding instead of shrinking. The manufacturing sector has expanded 22 straight months, though growth has slowed over the past three months. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast the index to fall to 57.1%, mirroring a trend in regional manufacturing surveys.
