Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM]  The S&P 500 trades about 20 points higher than yesterday, pushing further into record territory.

The ISM Services PMI decreased to 52.1% in November (Briefing.com consensus 55.5%) from 56.0% in October. The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 50.0%, so the November reading reflects services sector activity decelerating from October.

The key takeaway from the report is that tariff concerns were mentioned often among respondents considering their outlooks.

Factory orders increased 0.2% month-over-month in October following an upwardly revised 0.2% decline (from -0.5%) in September. Excluding transportation, factory orders rose 0.1% on the heels of a 0.1% increase in September. Shipments of manufactured goods fell 0.2% in October following a 0.4% decline in September.

The key takeaway from the report is that factory orders picked up following declines in the previous two months.