U.S. manufacturing expanded in June at the fastest rate since July 2021, driven by war-related supply concerns that pushed new orders to a four-year high, according to S&P Global. At the same time, factory job cuts, excluding the pandemic period, reached the highest level since 2009 amid worries over rising raw material prices and demand durability. The overall composite index rose to 52.2, a five-month high, but service sector growth remained sluggish as elevated prices and low confidence weighed on activity. The National Association for Business Economics on Monday said a panel of association economists trimmed its median forecast for gross domestic product growth this year to 2% from 2.4% in March, citing geopolitical conflict as the top downside concern.