Asian shares rise ahead of China manufacturing data

But the Purchasing Managers Index, a gauge of activity in the manufacturing sector, fell 0.2 percentage points to 49.6 points.

China’s factories have struggled to gain momentum in a slowing economy.

Asian shares headed higher, recovering from the previous session’s losses, as investors looked ahead to manufacturing data from China.

New orders also declined at the fastest rate in the PMI series history to date that was blamed on poor domestic demand, even as new exports increased last month.

A reading above 50 signals expanding activity while anything below indicates shrinkage.

The non-manufacturing PMI tracks the business activities of the service and construction industries. The overall new orders sub-index, which covers orders from at home and overseas, shrank at a slightly quicker pace than in October and for the fifth month in a row. In October it cut interest rates by 0.25 percent – the sixth reduction in a year – and abolished the official cap on interest rates for savers.

Looking ahead, economists surveyed by CNNMoney are expecting 6.8% GDP growth for the year – below the government’s own 7% target.

But that would still mark China’s weakest economic expansion in a quarter of a century, and some analysts believe real growth levels are much weaker than official data suggest.