U.S. News: Industry Picks Up the Pace
Manufacturing activity gained steam on several fronts in April, easing concerns that a key engine of the economy was beginning to falter.</br></br>The Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity, based on surveys of purchasing managers across the U.S., rose to 54.8 from 53.4 in March -- the 33rd consecutive month of growth and the fastest pace since June 2011.</br></br>The expansion was broad-based, with 16 of 18 industries reporting gains, according to the report Tuesday. Gauges of production, exports and employment all increased while the new-orders index -- a barometer of future activity -- rose 3.7 points to 58.2. Readings above 50 indicate growth.</br></br>Markets cheered the news, sending the Dow to a four-year high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65.69 points, or 0.5%, to 13279.32, its best close since Dec. 28, 2007.</br></br>The report surprised many economists who had forecast slower manufacturing growth in the face of downturns overseas, as well as signs of less appetite at home for capital equipment. That view was reinforced by weaker regional manufacturing data in recent weeks, as well as Friday's report on first-quarter gross domestic product. The GDP report showed that in the first three months of 2012, equipment and software spending expanded at the slowest pace since the recovery began in the summer of 2009.