PMI signals industrial stabilization, analysts say

A gauge of manufacturing activity recovered lost ground in January, suggesting stimulus measures have helped stabilize the world's second-largest economy.

The preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics was 49.8, exceeding the median estimate of 49.5 in a Bloomberg survey and up from December's 49.6.

Numbers below 50 indicate contraction.