Stock Market Update

The stock market remains on track for a sharply higher open, enthused by a retreat in oil prices following announcements that the U.S. and Iran have reached a peace agreement.

Industrial production increased just 0.1% month-over-month in May (Briefing.com consensus: 0.2%) following an upwardly revised 0.9% increase (from 0.7%) in April. The capacity utilization rate was 76.2% (Briefing.com consensus: 76.2%), up from 76.1% in April. Total industrial production was up 1.7% year-over-year. The capacity utilization rate was 3.2 percentage points below its long-run average.

The key takeaway from the report is that manufacturing output moved sideways in May, reflecting a cooling down after some solid activity in April.