Growth in manufacturing picked up in April, raising hopes of quicker recovery for the sector from the doldrums of slow growth that had been recorded in March, showed the widely-tracked Nikkei purchasing managers’ index (PMI) on Wednesday.

The PMI rose to 51.6 in April from March's 51, which was a 5-month low. A reading above 50 shows expansion. Overall, manufacturing conditions improved for the ninth consecutive month in April, the PMI report said. Also, after lowering their payroll numbers for the first time in eight months back in March, firms managed to stimulate marginal job creation in April as idle capacity was used up.

Greater output in consumption and intermediate groups outweighed the decline in investment goods, the survey pointed out. Goods manufacturers raised their output for the ninth successive month in April even as the rate of rise gained pace.

On the other hand, the rise of new order growth and favourable demand conditions strengthened. New business rose for the sixth consecutive month. Although modest, the rate of expansion accelerated since March with firms saying reporting that stronger market demand led to greater client wins.

That said, the rate of growth eased to the weakest pace since November, 2017, reflecting the slowest gain in new export orders since November. New export orders rose during March, thereby marking a six-month period of growth. IHS Markit had earlier warned that further advances in trade disputes could potentially weigh on sales to international clients.