Following a disappointing labor report before the bell, two positive trends in the macroeconomy were reported at 10 am on Thursday.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s manufacturing report failed to meet expectations for May, yet the regional survey improved slightly to -22.6 this month, from -24.4 in April. That score is indicative of widespread deterioration in overall conditions, but conditions have been improving now for three straight months.
“Although the indexes for general activity, shipments, and employment improved, the index for new orders declined slightly,” a press release said.
The Philly Fed’s Business Conditions index has been in contraction for 17 of the past 18 months.
The index is the second regional manufacturing report to be released for May. Last week, the NY Fed’s Empire State index beat expectations to hit its best level since August.
Released at the same time was April’s Leading Indicators Index, a forward-looking survey of the nationwide economy. As expected, the survey improved for the first time in ten months, led by gains in the stock market and improvements in consumer sentiment.
The index improved 1.0% compared to March, with 8 of the 10 components advancing in the month.
“The advance in the April headline index is consistent with the broader trend of better than expected data we saw in April,” commented Ian Pollick from TD Securities.
“However, there are still sizeable problems circulating within the U.S. economy, and as a result of the weak fundamentals we maintain our bias that the index is likely to be under pressure in the near-term,” he added.