China manufacturing data show slowing growth: HSBC

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch)
Growth in China's manufacturing-sector activity is slowing to a three-month low, initial results from HSBC's monthly survey showed Monday, with the numbers weighing on Chinese stocks and the Australian dollar
The "flash" version of the December HSBC/Markit China manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index eased to 50.5, down from November's final reading of 50.8
Still, the headline number remained above the 50 level, indicating growth, and the key subindexes for new export orders and overall new orders both showed rises at a faster rate than in the previous month
The employment sub-index, however, stayed in contractionary territory, indicating a faster decrease than in November
The flash PMI usually includes 85%-90% of total responses used for the final report
HSBC chief China economist Hongbin Qu said the flash result for December "slowed marginally from November's final reading
But it still stands above the average reading for the third quarter, implying that the recovering trend of the manufacturing sector starting from July still holds up."
Qu put HSBC's forecast for fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth at 7.8% from a year earlier Chinese stocks moved lower after the report's release