China’s factory activity breaks 8-month contraction, but headwinds persist

China’s factory activity returned to expansionary territory in December – beating market expectations to end an eight-month contraction – but analysts said it might be premature to view the rebound as a sign of sustained stabilisation. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 50.1 in December, up from 49.2 the previous month, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics. The reading exceeded a projection of 49.6 from economists polled by the...