BEIJING — China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), a gauge of factory activity, edged down in October but stood above expansion territory thanks to the government's pro-growth measures.

The PMI for the manufacturing sector came in at 51.4 in October, slightly down from 51.5 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Oct 31.

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

The October PMI, beating the market expectation of 51.3, marked the eighth consecutive month of expansion.

The sub-index for production stood at 53.9, remaining in expansion territory and down 0.1 points from September, while that for new orders stayed unchanged at 52.8, indicating a continued improvement in demand, according to NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

The new export order and import sub-indexes climbed to 51 and 50.8 in October, up 0.2 points and 0.4 points respectively from the previous month.

Data on Oct 31 also showed the PMI for the country's non-manufacturing sector came in at 56.2 in October, up from 55.9 last month.