Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The Dow Jones Industrial Average trades more than 300 points higher after this morning's economic data.

The April ISM Manufacturing Index slipped to 48.7% in April (Briefing.com consensus 47.9%) from 49.0% in March. The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 50.0%, so the April reading suggests that activity in the manufacturing sector contracted at a slightly faster pace than the prior month.

The key takeaway from the report is that demand weakened, evidenced by the New Orders Index remaining below 50.0% for the third straight month, with tariff uncertainty contributing to the relatively weak activity.

Total construction spending decreased 0.5% month-over-month in March (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) after increasing a downwardly revised 0.6% increase (from 0.7%) in February. Total private construction was down 0.6% month-over-month, while total public construction was down 0.2% month-over-month. On a year-over-year basis, total construction spending was up 2.8%.

The key takeaway from the report is that spending weakened in March for both private and public construction.