By Fabiana Negrin Ochoa

A private gauge of China's services activities edged down again, but showed continued, albeit modest, expansion in the sector.

The Caixin services purchasing managers index declined to 52.5 in February from 52.7 in January, Caixin Media Co. and S&P Global said Tuesday. A reading above the neutral 50 mark suggests expansion, while one below indicates contraction.

Analysts had been watching to see if high-frequency data over the Lunar New Year holiday had translated to more robust readings, HSBC economists said.

The rate of services activity expansion in February was the softest since last November, as business activity growth weakened amid a muted uptick in new orders, the data showed. Confidence in the outlook for the year ahead also moderated, while companies trimmed staff numbers.

Still, February's print marked a 14th straight month in growth territory. "This indicated a continued recovery in China's services sector," said Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group.

The reading comes after official data released last week also signaled expansion.

China's nonmanufacturing PMI, which covers both services and construction activity, rose to 51.4 in February from 50.7 in January, according to the country's statistics bureau.

The subindex tracking services activity rose to 51.0 from 50.1 over the period, boosted by the Lunar New Year holiday.