Work takes place at Fords plant in Chonqing, China. (Image: Ford)

BANGKOK, Thailand Global stock markets edged up Monday after a survey showed manufacturing in the worlds No.2 economy rose to a six-month high last month.

HSBC said the preliminary version of its monthly purchasing managers index for China rose to 51.2 from 50.1 in August. Numbers above 50 indicate an expansion in activity.

The data breathed some life into Chinese markets. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.3 per cent to 2,221.04. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 2.2 per cent to 1,059.74.

While the good news from China was encouraging, its not a game-changer. Its just cementing or building the picture that weve had out of China for a couple of months, said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.

Elsewher in Asia, trading was subdued. Japans stock market was closed for a public holiday while a powerful storm forced Hong Kong markets to shutter in the morning. In the afternoon, Hong Kongs Hang Seng fell 0.6 per cent to 23,371.54.

South Koreas Kospi rose 0.2 per cent to 2,009.41 while Australias S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5 per cent to 5,252.50. Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand fell. Those in Taiwan and the Philippines rose.

RELATED: Survey shows China manufacturing falling to 11-month low as economic slowdown deepens

Early in Europe, Britains FTSE 100 was marginally lower at 6,593.66. Germanys DAX rose 0.2 per cent to 8,693.20. Frances CAC-40 gained 0.2 per cent to 4,213.07. Wall Street appeared set to open higher, with Dow Jones industrial futures rising 0.3 per cent to 15,445. S&P 500 futures gained 0.3 per cent to 1,706.60.

Among individual stocks, Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining plummeted nearly 8 per cent after the company issued a dour annual report. Last month, the company posted a $5.8 billion net loss for the year amid slumping gold prices.

Wall Street fell Friday as investors focused on the debate in Washington over the debt ceiling and concerns about a stalemate between Republicans and the White House. Lawmakers need to agree to raise the debt ceiling by Oct. 1 to avoid a government shutdown, and a potential default on payments, including debt, later in the month.

Benchmark oil for November delivery was down 16 cents to $104.58 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The October contract dropped $1.72, or 1.4 per cent, to settle at $104.67 on Friday. Last week, oil dropped $3.54, or 3.3 per cent. Thats despite a 2.5 per cent increase on Wednesday, when the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it would keep its stimulus policy in place.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3522 from $1.3523 late Friday. The dollar fell to 98.96 yen from 99.32 yen.