A nationwide report of manufacturing conditions remained in contraction in May, but the pace of slowdown is softer than in previous months, leading to an early rally in the first morning of June. The ISM Manufacturing Index improved to 42.8 in May, up from 40.1 in April. The gain slightly beat economists’ forecasts to reach its highest level since September 2008. The index for New Orders, a key component in looking ahead, even managed to report growth for the first time since November 2007...