Chinese stocks rose on Tuesday after factory activity contracted for a sixth straight month, but still managed to top economists’ expectations.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index finished up 0.9%, and the mainland CSI 300 gauge closed 0.5% higher.
The moves came after the National Bureau of Statistics said that China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 49.8 in September. That topped the 49.6 figure that economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast, but remained below the 50 threshold required to signal an expansion instead of a contraction.
