ISM manufacturing survey falls in February
The Institute for Supply Management said its survey of top manufacturing executives fell to 54.2% last month from 56.6% in January. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast the index to total 55.5%.
Although any number above 50% reflects a growing economy, the closely followed ISM index has fallen off from a 14-year high of 60.8% last summer.Read: Economy slows to 2.6% in fourth quarter, GDP shows, but it still shows lots of muscle Big picture: The economy slowed toward the end of 2018 and it may have slowed further still early in the new year, but the U.S. is still growing at a steady pace and the odds of recession are low.
The Federal Reserve recently decided to stop raising U.S. interest rates for the time being and the prospects for a tension-easing trade deal with China are rising — a pair of tailwinds that could boost growth in the spring.Market reaction:The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.40% and S&P 500 SPX, +0.43% rose sharply on Friday on hopes for a trade deal with China soon, but early gains were trimmed by softer reports manufacturing and consumer sentiment.
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