China's final HSBC PMI steady at 50.2 in September but down from flash estimate

REUTERS - Activity in China's vast factory sector showed signs of steadying in September as export orders climbed, a private survey showed on Tuesday, easing fears of a hard landing but still pointing to a sluggish economy.

The final HSBC/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index(PMI) hovered at 50.2 in September, unchanged from the August reading which was a three-month low, but lower than a preliminary reading of 50.5.

A sub-index measuring new export orders, a gauge of external demand, expanded to a 4-1/2-year-high of 54.5.

But the survey also pointed to further weakness in the job market, as the sub-index for manufacturing employment shrank for the 11th consecutive month, which is bound to concern China's Communist leaders.

The world's second-largest economy has stumbled this year as a slowdown in the housing market further weighed on softening domestic demand. Economists believe policymakers will have to roll out more stimulus measures in coming months to meet the government's 2014 growth target of around 7.5 percent.

(Reporting By Xiaoyi Shao and Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Kim Coghill)