After registering record low figures for the month of February in China - on both Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) - these numbers have made a solid rebound for March to the delight of investors.
Manufacturing PMI hit 52.0 and non-manufacturing came in at 52.3, well above from last month's 35.7 and 29.6, respectively. (A reading of 50 is the midpoint between expansion and contraction. Contraction is a major factor of recession).
This means some positive news, not just for the world economy but for others elsewhere in the world who are still waiting for peak coronavirus infection and an economic recovery after that.
Following growth in January, the stock index collapsed to 29.7 in February, as services encompassing retail to transportation were stopped by government and provincial steps initiated to restrict disease's spread.
A survey by Reuters provided a consensus projection of 45, suggesting they expected further tightening. On Tuesday, the news propelled higher shares on Asian stock markets, especially in mainland China and Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index rose 1.2 percent to 23,455 mid-morning.
Stocks climbed across the globe on Tuesday after China's better than anticipated industrial data boosted expectations that the world's second-largest economy could stage a rapid recovery from the health crisis.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed at 1.5 percent, while London's FTSE 100 closed the day at 1.8 percent. Germany's DAX was 1.3 percent higher and the French CAC 40 shed 0.4 percent.
In the US, the S&P 500 increased by 0.1 percent as Europe ended, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by around 0.3 percent. Nasdaq shares increased by 0.6 percent.
Asia appears this morning to display signs of post-coronavirus life, with data released throughout the area showing some encouraging signs of a rebound.
"The results are very pleasing as the recovery is generally focused on the region's main economies, and not just China, bringing a welcome break from months of virus doom," Jeffrey Halley, senior market strategist at OANDA for Asia Pacific, disclosed in an interview with the South China Morning Post.
China's SSE Composite Index was up 0.1 percent late Tuesday, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 1.3 percent at close-market.
Although Japan's Nikkei inched up about 0.9 percent, South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index settled nearly 2.1 percent in the green.
Oil prices which crashed to 18-year lows Monday in the midst of a price war showdown between Saudi Arabia and Russia staged a recovery of sorts.
