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BANGKOK (AP) — World stock markets rose Thursday after a survey showed that China's manufacturing expanded for the first time in 13 months, rare good news for the struggling global economy. Sentiment also benefited from a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
HSBC's Purchasing Managers' Index, which combines various measures of manufacturing activity in China, rose to 50.4 for November. That was up from October's PMI of 49.5 and September's PMI of 47.9. Readings above 50 denote growth.
The survey shows that the "economic recovery continues to gain momentum towards the year end," analysts at HSBC said. "However, it is still the early stage of recovery and global economic growth remains fragile."
Stocks in Europe were higher in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent to 5,775.44. Germany's DAX added 0.5 percent to 7,221.09 and France's CAC-40 advanced 0.3 percent to 3,487.34. U.S. stock markets will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday and will also close early Friday.
Asian markets also registered strong gains, boosted by the manufacturing news from China, a major market for many countries in the region.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1 percent to close at 21,743.20. South Korea's Kospi added 0.8 percent to 1,899.50 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1 percent to 4,424.20. Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan also advanced.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.6 percent to close at 9,366.80 — its highest finish since May 2 — as a recently weakened yen provided a vital boost to the export-heavy index
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