A Chinese manufacturing gauge rebounded in March, suggesting stimulus efforts have started to bolster factories in the world’s second-largest economy. The government’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index was 50.1 last month, from 49.9 in February, according to the statistics bureau and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing in Beijing. Numbers above 50 signal expansion. Premier Li Keqiang last month said policy makers will step in if growth slows too sharply, while central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan flagged room to act. Wednesday’s reading suggests China’s factories, marred by deflation and ... (full story)