Global factory activity slipped back into contraction in July, with key purchasing-managers’ surveys across Asia, Europe and North America all printing below the 50-point threshold that separates expansion from decline. JPMorgan’s composite manufacturing PMI, compiled with S&P Global, fell to 49.7 from 50.3 in June, marking the gauge’s third sub-50 reading in four months. China’s official manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.3, defying expectations for a steady reading, while the companion survey for services eased to 50.1. A separate S&P Global measure put China’s factory PMI at 49.5, also below consensus. Japan’s final July PMI came in at 48.9, the U.K. at 48.0, Switzerland at 48.8 and Canada at a deeper 46.1. In the United States, S&P Global’s PMI edged up to 49.8, but the more closely watched ISM index slipped to 48.0, with new orders at 47.1 and hiring at 43.4. The soft surveys were echoed in hard data: U.S. factory orders sank 4.8% in June, matching forecasts but reversing an 8.3% surge in May that was linked to tariff-related front-loading. Orders excluding transportation rose a modest 0.4%, while durable-goods bookings were revised to a 9.4% drop. Economists said the broad-based weakness underscores the drag from higher borrowing costs and still-soft global trade. Persistently sub-50 readings raise the risk that manufacturing could weigh on second-half growth and prod policymakers in several capitals to consider fresh support measures.