The euro-zone's private sector began 2014 in better shape than expected.
Surveys on Thursday showed stronger growth across the now 18-member euro-zone was marred only by an ongoing contraction in France, although the pace of that slowed. Apart from that, the upturn appeared broad-based with decent growth in both the services and manufacturing industries.
Markit's Flash euro-zone Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which gauges business activity across thousands of companies and is seen as a good guide to economic health, jumped to 53.2 in January from 52.1 last month.
That was well above the 50 mark that denotes growth and was its highest since mid-2011, beating all forecasts in a Reuters poll of 25 economists.
An earlier composite PMI from France, the bloc's second-biggest economy, showed activity contracted for the third month running in January, although the downturn was less pronounced with both services and factory PMIs beating expectations.
In neighbouring Germany, the composite PMI rose to a 31-month high.
Markit said if the data held near current levels, the bloc's economy would grow around 0.3-0.4% in the first quarter, stronger than the 0.2% suggested in a Reuters poll last week.
New orders rose for the sixth month, indicating the PMIs might rise higher next month. That comes after Ireland and Spain drew strong demand for bonds in auctions this month, while European shares climbed to fresh 5-1/2 year peaks on Tuesday as investors become increasingly bullish.
