All today's latest business and economic news, as Spain's manufacturing activity jumps at fastest rate since April 2010, but China's small firms are struggling
But China's small firms contract again
9.15am BST
Growth in Germany's factories has fallen back, though -- with its monthly manufacturing PMI dropping to 53.7 from 54.8 in February.
Although that it still healthily in 'expansion' territory (above 50), it suggests the eurozone's largest economy may have lost some zip last month.
Germanys goods producing sector lost some of its recently strong growth momentum...
Output and new business orders rose at sharp, albeit weaker rates, adding evidence that the manufacturing upturn has moderated slightly. With employment growth edging closer to stagnation and export growth easing to a five-month low, the data signal that there might still be a few obstacles on the path to recovery.
9.10am BST
Wowzers - France's factory sector has posted its biggest jump in output in 33 months, returning to growth for the first time in two years.
French manufacturing "sprang back to life" last month, Markit said, perhaps calming concerns that France has become the sick man of Europe.
The French manufacturing sector delivered a much improved performance in March, buoyed by solid growth of new orders.
With the sector having finally moved into expansion territory following a prolonged spell of weakness, firms will be looking for signs of a convincing recovery taking hold before looking to boost areas such as employment. If input prices continue to fall, French manufacturers may look to gain a competitive edge through cutting output prices.
8.59am BST
Here comes the survey of Italy's factory sector....and it has followed Spain (see 8.35am) with another rise in activity - but no improvement on the jobs front.
Italy's factory PMI rose to 52.4 in March, up from 52.3 a month ago, driven by a rise in exports.
Another area that manufacturers targeted for streamlining was employment. While production levels rose at a solid and accelerated pace, job creation eased to the slowest in the current five- month sequence and was negligible.
Only the investment goods sector saw a substantial rise in staffing numbers since February.
"Also of note in Marchs data was the simultaneous falls in input and output prices, which further highlight the risk of deflation in Italy.
8.35am BST
Spain's factory sector continues to claw its way back from recession, with manufacturers reporting the fastest growth since April 2010.
The Spanish PMI, based on interviews with purchasing managers across the country, jumped to 52.8 in March -- the fourth month in a row that it has come in above the 50-pint mark, denoting growth.
Rates of expansion in both output and new orders quickened during the month, although employment growth dropped off.
The recent pick-up in the Spanish manufacturing sector continued in March, finishing off a solid first quarter.
Sharper rises in both new and existing orders suggest that further growth of output is likely in the near-term. Input prices decreased for the second time in the past three months, highlighting a continued lack of inflationary pressure.
8.22am BST
The first European manufacturing surveys are in. They all show growth -- although it did slow in several countries.
The Netherland's PMI dropped to 53.7 in March from 55.2. That indicates that its factories continued to expand last month, at a slower rate.
Hungary, Netherlands and Poland PMIs all miss, Norway beats. All above 50.0
8.14am BST
Asia's stock markets have shaken off worries over China, hitting a four-month high on the back of some very dovish comments by the Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen, on Monday.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares has risen 0.4%, to its highest level since December. The main Chinese indices are up around 0.6%.
8.05am BST
Medium-sized and small firms in China are continuing to struggle to grow, adding to concerns that the Chinese economy is losing steam.
HSBC's China manufacturing PMI survey, which focuses on smaller private companies, showed that activity contracted for the third month in a row in March, at the fastest rate in eight months.
The final reading of the HSBC China Manufacturing PMI in March confirmed the weakness of domestic demand conditions. This implies that 1Q GDP growth is likely to have fallen below the annual growth target of 7.5%. We expect Beijing to fine-tune policy sooner rather than later to stabilise growth.
The March read was the first read free of the Chinese Luna New Year and despite the constant expansion there are weaknesses across the domestic sector, seeing price and output contracting.
8.03am BST
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the financial markets, the world economy, the eurozone and business.
It's a busy morning for economic data, with manufacturing surveys from countries across the globe being released in the next few hours.
Morning from #Athens #euro watchers. Euro-zone fin mins meet here today to talk #Greece, #macro, #Portugal pic.twitter.com/8tDitDQ06n
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