Manufacturing expands in US, China and UK

Global economic data on Thursday were mostly positive, with manufacturing data from the US, China and UK all indicating growth in activity.

Markit confirmed on Thursday that its US manufacturing PMI dipped to 55.4 in April from 55.5 in March.

However, another report from the US on Thursday from the Institute for Supply Management showed that its manufacturing PMI rose to 54.9 in April, the strongest so far this year, from 53.7 in March.

Among other US economic data on Thursday, a report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer spending rose 0.9 percent in March while another one showed that construction spending increased 0.2 percent in March.

Earlier on Thursday, China reported that its official manufacturing PMI rose to 50.4 in April from 50.3 in March.

However, in the UK, a report on Thursday showed that the Markit/CIPS manufacturing PMI jumped to 57.3 in April from 55.8 in March.

UK housing data on Thursday were mixed though. Nationwide reported that the price of an average British house rose 1.2 percent last month but the Bank of England reported that mortgage approvals for house purchases fell for a second month in March to their lowest level since September last year.