China's December manufacturing PMI retreats

Chinese manufacturing business activity waned slightly in December but was still expanding, official data showed on Thursday.

The manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI), a key measure of factory activity in China, posted at 50.1 in December, down 0.2 percentage point from November, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 represents contraction.