Manufacturing growth slips to six-month low in March: PMI

A couple of days ahead of monetary policy statement, a widely-tracked Nikkei's purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed that manufacturing activities slowed down to a six-month low in March as new orders and production decline. This prompted a commentator on PMI to say that that RBI should cut the rate and the government should announce stimulus to spur manufacturing. 

Most companies did not hire additional labour in March. 

PMI declined to 52.6 in March from 14-month high of 54.3 in February. A reading above 50 indicates expansion while a print below that level points to contraction.

"Falling from 54.3 in February