Excerpt
Factories in the United States, Europe and Asia cranked up production last month, suggesting recovery from a deep recession was taking root in economies around the globe.
The U.S. manufacturing sector grew at its fastest pace in more than five years last month and activity in Europe bounced higher, with a cheaper euro helping stimulate exports.
UK manufacturing expanded at its fastest pace since 1994, while China's vast industrial sector also grew in March.
U.S. stock indexes rose along with equity markets across Europe and Asia as the data bolstered hopes the worst global downturn in generations was ending.
Investors are keen for more evidence the recovery is gaining momentum to justify optimism that has pushed U.S. and Japanese equities to 18-month highs.
"We had a slew of nice upside surprises from manufacturing data around the world," said Matthew Strauss, a senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto. "The numbers were not out of the ballpark but were all stronger than expected, so that's a good start to the month."
In the United States, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index grew for an eighth straight month, with the sector expanding at its fastest pace since July 2004, more swiftly than economists had expected.
Though the index's employment component slipped slightly, the data still boosted spirits ahead of Friday's government payrolls report. Analysts expect it to show the economy added 190,000 jobs in March after cutting 36,000 in February.
"This is unmitigated good news for the manufacturing sector, which is good news for the progress of the general recovery," said Pierre Ellis, senior economist at Decision Economics in New York.
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