When bargain-hunting US industrials, best to tread lightly

New York

SOME investors may have begun to sniff around the beaten-down US industrial sector for bargains in the wake of the stockmarket selloff of the past month, but those betting on a broad advance in the group's stock prices may wind up disappointed.

The S&P industrial stock index is down nearly 10 per cent for the year, putting it in the bottom half of performers among the 10 major S&P index sectors, partly due to concerns about the effect a slowdown in China would have on the global economy.