Factory output estimate indicates stability

A manufacturing gauge for June has hit a seven-month high, indicating that progress has been made in stabilizing the world's second-largest economy thanks to modest policy measures, analysts said.

The preliminary reading of the HSBC/Markit Economics Purchasing Managers Index for this month was 50.8, the highest figure since November, compared with a final reading of 49.4 in May. A figure above 50 indicates expansion.

Economists said the index shows that the economy has started to stabilize after Premier Li Keqiang vowed in London last week that it would not experience a hard landing.