China's PMI rises to highest level in 2014

Growth in China's manufacturing sector continued to accelerate in May, rising to the highest level for this year and adding to signs of a stabilizing economy, official data showed on Sunday.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) increased to 50.8 in May, up from 50.4 in April, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

The reading, which inched further above the 50-point level separating a monthly expansion in factories' activity from a contraction, indicated a pickup in China's manufacturing sector and the economy as a whole.

This is the third consecutive monthly uptick of the widely watched data. The index, seen as one of the key indicators of how the economy performs, began to climb in March after three months of declines.