Eurozone activity

BRUSSELS: Eurozone private sector business activity ticked up in March after a sharp fall in February, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday, but the outlook remains clouded. Data monitoring company Markit said its March Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) inched up to 53.1 points from a revised 53 points in February.

The PMI measures companies’ readiness to spend on their business and so gives a good idea of how the underlying economy is doing. The March figure was initially given as 53.7 points but revised down largely because of fresh weakness in the struggling French and Italian economies, Markit said.