Tuesday was the polar opposite of Monday as economic data points impressed the markets, coupled with strong monthly auto sales in February. Many ask me what a perfect jobs report might look like on Friday- something like the ISM manufacturing report out this morning. The headline beat the street and came in well above consensus for January, but the overall report is still in contraction.
New Orders bode well for the future and employment is encouraging but neither signal an overheated economy.
ISM |
Feb |
Est |
Jan |
Headline |
49.5 |
48.5 |
48.2 |
ISM Components |
Feb |
Jan |
New Orders |
51.5 |
51.2 |
Employment |
48.5 |
45.9 |
Prices |
38.5 |
33.5 |
Overall construction in January surged 1.5% month over month, well ahead of the 0.3% consensus. This is a huge sign, although we would like to see more residential building.
