China Manufacturing PMI Returns to Expansion at 50.1 in September

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 50.1 in September from 49.8 in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday, marking the first expansion in three months and matching economist expectations. A reading above 50 indicates growth. The production subindex climbed to 51.7 from 50.4, while new orders edged down to 50.5 from 50.6 and new export orders eased to 50.0 from 50.1. The private RatingDog PMI separately rose to 52.1 from 51.5. The data followed new stimulus measures announced Tuesday, including subsidies for homebuyers' mortgage interest payments, and preceded China's weeklong October national holiday. Manufacturing has been a relative strength this year, driven mainly by external demand as domestic consumption and investment lag, ING's Lynn Song wrote. A two-month extension of the U.S.-China trade truce through January may support bilateral trade.