Sector movers: Miners in demand as weak China data lifts stimulus hopes

It was a case of bad data being good news for the mining sector on Thursday as stocks surged on hopes for further stimulus in China.

A HSBC survey said the Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell from 49.6 to a one-year low of 49.2, surprising analysts who had expected no change.

Economist Chris Williamson from Markit said the soft data added to the chance of more policy measures from the world's top metals consumer to boost growth.

“The drop in the PMI in April clearly represents a disappointing start to the second quarter, raising the possibility of economic growth having lost further momentum compared to the already-weak rate seen in the opening quarter of the year," he said.

The People's Bank of China last week lowered its reserve requirement ratio by more than economists expected in an aggressive move to promote bank lending.

Mining peers Antofagasta, Anglo American, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fresnillo were all rising around 3-4% in afternoon trade.

Anglo in particular was in demand after saying it delivered a "solid" production performance in the first quarter, in line with its expectations despite two of its three largest divisions experiencing declines in output.

The company held on to full-year production guidance for most of its commodity classes, except the diamond segment which was lowered "in light of current trading conditions".