LCG London Cap

By Tommy Stubbington and Riva Gold 

Global stocks markets rallied on the first day of the new quarter, extending their rebound from heavy declines into a second session.

Tentative signs that a slowdown in China's manufacturing sector may be bottoming out helped markets add to Wednesday's gains, which came as U.S. and European shares ended their worst quarter in four years on a high note.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 1.0% midmorning.

U.S. stock futures indicated a 0.8% rise for the S&P 500. Changes in futures aren't necessarily reflected in market moves after the opening bell.

Some mixed Chinese economic data helped bolster investors' confidence.

Earlier Thursday, China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index ticked up slightly to 49.8 in September, beating expectations. A competing private gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity, the Caixin China manufacturing PMI, was down slightly at 47.2 in September, a six-year low, compared with 47.3 in August.

In the eurozone, manufacturing data showed the pace of expansion slowed slightly in September.

"Much of the uncertainty is already in the price. Investors are well aware of the impending economic slowdown," said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, chief economist and strategist at London-based brokerage and wealth manager Charles Stanley.

Mining stocks, which have taken a battering in recent weeks, led the way in Europe. The Stoxx Europe 600 basic resources subindex, which is full of companies that highly sensitive to Chinese demand, climbed 2.7%.

Shares in commodities trader and producer Glencore PLC continued to recover following a plunge earlier in the week, rising 4.4%.

Asian markets, which had already opened higher, extended gains after the data was released. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.8%.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei Stock Average climbed 1.9%. Investors in Japan also considered the Bank of Japan's latest corporate survey, which showed that big manufacturers were more cautious about the economy in the third quarter as exporters were pressured by China's slowdown.

Markets in China and Hong Kong were closed for national holidays.

Meanwhile, investors were looking ahead to Friday's U.S. jobs report, which is closely watched by Federal Reserve officials as they decide when to raise short-term interest rates. The Fed's decision to hold rates at record lows in September helped fuel fears of slowing global growth.

Economists expect 200,000 jobs were created in September and estimate that the unemployment rate held at 5.1%.

Investors are also awaiting the coming third-quarter earnings season. A disappointing batch of corporate profit news could cause the recent rebound in markets to fade quickly, said Mr. Batstone-Carr.

"I'd be concerned about sounding the all clear, particularly as we head into the reporting season," he said.

In currency markets, the euro fell 0.2% against the dollar to $1.1155. The buck was 0.2% higher against the yen at Yen120.10.

In commodities, Brent crude oil was up 2.1% at $50.06 a barrel. Gold was down 0.2% at $1,113.10 a troy ounce.

Write to Tommy Stubbington at tommy.stubbington@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 01, 2015 06:39 ET (10:39 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.