The Australian share market has opened higher as manufacturing figures out of China lift investor sentiment.

IG market strategist Stan Shamu said the local market had opened positively on the data.

“It’s mainly because of the positive Chinese PMI data we had yesterday which came in at 51 points. Expectations were for 50.6,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of positive data out of China recently.”

The official figures showed that China’s manufacturing activity strengthened in August to its highest level in 16 months and suggested that the world’s second-largest economy is picking up after two quarters of slower growth.

The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 51.0 last month from 50.3 in July.

The index tracks manufacturing activity in China’s factories and workshops.

Mr Shamu said fears that the US would mount a military strike on Syria had also eased, which was encouraging to investors.

Among the major banks at 1031 AEST, the National Australia Bank was up 21 cents at $32.66, the ANZ rose 12 cents to $29.81, Westpac climbed 37 cents to $31.76, and the Commonwealth Bank gained 34 cents at $73.18.

In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was 31 cents lower at $35.44 as it traded ex-dividend, while Rio Tinto lifted 90 cents to $59.20.

On Wall Street on Friday, stocks finished lower after disappointing news on US consumer spending.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 30.64 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 14,810.31 points.

KEY FACTS

* At 1034 AEST on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 40.1 points, or 0.78 per cent, at 5,175.1 points.

* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 40.7 points, or 0.79 per cent, lower at 5,166.0 points.

* The September share price index futures contract was 55 points higher at 5,173 points, with 11,327 contracts traded.

* At 1036 AEST, national turnover was 398.1 million securities worth $728.6 million.