Workers look at machines moving newly made raw bricks at a factory in Huaibei, Anhui province July 31, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/China Daily/Files

(Reuters) - China's vast factory sector grew a shade faster in October as firms saw more foreign and domestic orders, a private survey showed on Thursday, though the modest expansion likely won't dispel concerns about the cooling Chinese economy. The flash HSBC/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) edged up to a three-month high of 50.4 from a final reading of 50.2 in September, and just a hair's breadth from the 50.3 reading forecast by analysts.
Underscoring the pressures facing China's economy, growth in new orders at home and abroad slowed in October and producer prices fell, pushing factory inflation to a seven-month low.
The level of output in factories also fell to a five-month low of 50.7, just above the 50-point level that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.
The PMI report followed data earlier this week that showed the world's second-largest economy grew at its slowest rate since the global financial crisis in the September quarter, adding to worries that it was weighing on global growth.