Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.3%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.2%), and DJIA (-0.3%) face some resistance at their baselines that keeps them in modestly negative territory this morning. 

The ISM Manufacturing Index checked in at 52.4% for February (Briefing.com consensus: 52.1%), down from 52.6% in January. The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 50.0%, so the February figure suggests manufacturing activity in February expanded but at a slower pace than the prior month.

The key takeaway from the report is the faster pace of growth in the Prices Index, as that will fuel concerns about sticky inflation pressure (and the Fed sticking with its current policy rate for longer).