Business index in China at 13-month high BEIJING, May 2 (UPI) -- A key manufacturing index in China reached a 13-month high in April, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said. The China Daily reported Wednesday the Purchasing Managers' Index rose from 53.1 in March to 53.3 in April. Fifty is the break-even point. Figures above 50 indicate manufacturing is expanding. The PMI shows that China's economic growth is upbeat. But there may be more uncertainty in the fourth quarter depending on the global economic situation," said Cai Jin, vice chairman of the federation. "Recovery in the real economy will provide support and confidence to the stock market," China Daily quoted market analyst Li Daxiao at Yingda Securities as saying in an online posting. In China, where export businesses make up a significant portion of the economy, the focus is on the United States and Europe, two of its major trading partners that are struggling to pull away from sluggish or slowing growth. To make up for the lack of new orders from abroad, "Policymakers (in China) continue to grapple with the challenge of loosening (monetary policy) enough to prevent a sharp slowdown, but not loosening too much and sparking an inflationary spiral," said IHS Global Insight analyst Alastair Thornton. "Orders from Europe, our biggest export market, didn't pick up last month and we don't see it picking up soon," said Wang Ming, a sales manager at car alarm producer Zhongshan Beiaos Metal Products. Inventory is high and we are not in a very good position right now. Wang said. Separately, a PMI report compiled by HSBC and Markit Economics that is slanted more toward smaller businesses showed the manufacturing index in April rose to 49.1 from 48.3 in March. "Manufacturing activity is mainly measured by investment and the return rate of a company, both of which allow no optimism," said Zhang Qizi, a researcher with the Institute of Industrial Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.