SURVEY: CHINA FACTORY ACTIVITY AT 6-MONTH LOW

HONG KONG (AP) — A survey shows that manufacturing activity in China has fallen to a six-month low in November, reflecting sluggishness in the world No. 2 economy and weakness abroad.

HSBC’s preliminary purchasing managers’ index released Thursday fell to 50.0 this month from 50.4 in October.

The index uses a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 indicate contraction while numbers above show expansion.

The latest reading indicates there’s no change in overall conditions from the previous month.

China’s economic growth slowed to a five-year low of 7.3 percent in the third quarter of the year.

The report said that there are “still uncertainties in the months ahead from the property market and on the export front.”