Activity in China’s factories slowed for a fifth straight month in March, a preliminary private survey showed yesterday, raising market expectations of government stimulus to arrest a loss of momentum in the world’s second-largest economy this year.

Concern about the health of the Chinese economy knocked the country’s main share index and other Asian markets lower, and lopped around a quarter of a US cent from the Australian dollar, which is often used as a liquid proxy for Chinese risk.

The flash Markit/HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to an eight-month low of 48.1 in March from February’s final reading of 48.5. The index has been below the 50 level since January, indicating a contraction in the sector this year.

Output and new orders both weakened but new export orders grew for the first time in four months, the survey showed, suggesting the slowdown has been driven primarily by weak domestic demand.

“Usually, for the month of March, the PMI will rebound, because after Chinese New Year, there should be some activity coming back, but this PMI is disappointing,” said Wei Yao, China economist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.

“The government probably will have to provide some supporting measures.”

“I think the slowdown is not over yet and our expectation is that the deceleration will continue into Q2,” she added.

The CSI300 index of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listings shed all its early gains after the data, while Hong Kong shares pared gains of more than 1.5 per cent to be 0.9 per cent higher. The preliminary Markit/HSBC March index showed new orders slid for a fourth consecutive month, to 46.9, the lowest since July 2013, while output fell to an 18-month low of 47.3.

There was a substantial increase in the employment sub-index, though the number remained below 50.

Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said this month that a healthy labour market was more important than reaching the government’s 2014 growth target of about 7.5 per cent.