China's stocks open higher after improving PMI data

Chinese stocks opened higher on Thursday after data showed China's manufacturing activity slightly picked up in July.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened at 2,000.82 points, up 0.35 percent, and the Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.7 percent to open at 7,819.45 points.

China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector rose slightly to 50.3 percent in July from 50.1 percent in June.