BEIJING -- China's business climate index, a major gauge of the country's macroeconomic outlook, rose in the first quarter of 2014, according to data released on Wednesday.

The index stood at 128 points for the first quarter, up 3.7 points from the previous quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

The index ranges from zero to 200 points. A reading of more than 100 indicates a sound and optimistic climate, while a reading below 100 is a sign of a pessimistic business environment.

About 76.3 percent of enterprises regarded their businesses as "normal" or "better than normal" in the first quarter, 2.7 percentage points lower than in the fourth quarter of 2013, but 2.1 percentage points higher year on year.

The sub-index for large enterprises dropped, though both the sub-indices for medium-sized and small enterprises rose.

The sub-index for large enterprises dropped 0.6 points to 132.5. That for medium-sized enterprises rose 3.5 points to 129.4 and that for small enterprises rose 5.3 points to 121.

The index surveys around 21,000 industrial enterprises.

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