China's manufactuing sector starts 2015 by contracting

The HSBC manufacturing PMI registered at 49.7 in January, up slightly from 49.6 in December.

But any reading below 50 signals decline.

This follows the official PMI, which fell to 49.8, the lowest level since September 2012.

Here are the key points from Markit:

• Output increases for first time since October, albeit fractionally
• Employment levels fall at weakest rate in 15 months
• Average input costs fall at sharpest pace since March 2009

"Both new orders and new export orders saw downward revisions, but still signalled marginal expansion," HSBC's Hongbin Qu said. "We think demand in the manufacturing sector remains weak and more aggressive monetary an d fiscal easing measures will be needed to prevent a nother sharp slowdown in growth"