BEIJING, April 30 -- The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 49.4 this month, down 0.7 percentage points from the previous month, official data showed on Thursday.

The sub-index for business activity in the service sector stood at 49.6 in April, down 0.6 percentage points from March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

While wholesale, retail and resident services sectors saw subdued market activity this month, railway transport, postal services, and telecom, broadcasting and satellite transmission services stayed in the high-prosperity zone with a rapid expansion in overall business volume, the data revealed.

The business expectation index for the service sector stood at 55.4 in April, up 0.6 percentage points from a month earlier, indicating a strengthened outlook for positive market developments.

The sub-index for business activity in the construction sector dropped 1.3 percentage points to 48 this month, with the business expectation index remaining flat at 50.5.

Thursday's data also showed that manufacturing PMI came in at 50.3 in April, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, while the composite PMI output index slipped from 50.5 to 50.1.