BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector stood at 50.3 in April, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, official data showed Thursday.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.

The sector saw sustained expansion in manufacturing output and market demand. The production sub-index came in at 51.5, and the new orders index stood at 50.6, both remaining above the 50 mark, according to data jointly released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

Driven by continued growth in production and demand, the procurement volume index rose 0.2 percentage points to 51.1, the data showed.

PMI readings for large, medium and small enterprises all stayed in expansionary territory. Large enterprises posted a PMI of 50.2, staying above the threshold for five consecutive months.

Medium and small enterprises saw respective readings of 50.5 and 50.1, rising 1.5 and 0.8 percentage points from a month earlier, indicating a notable rebound in their business sentiment.

The PMI for the high-tech manufacturing sector stood at 52.2, and that for equipment manufacturing came in at 51.8, up 0.1 and 0.3 percentage points respectively, the data showed.

The sub-index for raw material purchase prices remained elevated at 63.7, while the factory-gate price index was 55.1, indicating notable increases in overall manufacturing sector prices.

Rising for three consecutive months, the index for production and business activity expectations climbed 1.1 percentage points to 54.5, signaling strengthening market expectations.

Thursday's data also showed that the PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 49.4 in April, down 0.7 percentage points from the previous month. ■