• China’s factory activity contracted again in January as a tepid improvement in foreign demand failed to outweigh the drag from poor domestic sentiment, dealing another blow to investors awaiting more signals on how the government will support the economy.
• The official manufacturing purchasing managers index reached 49.2 this month, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement on Wednesday — above December’s reading but still below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.
• The non-manufacturing gauge measuring activity in construction and services rose to 50.7, marginally better than the prior month and economists’ projections. A sub-index of services activity expanded for the first time since October, though growth in construction eased to a three-month low.