The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank released its January 2010 Business Outlook Survey, revealing manufacturing expectations improved in January, and firms remain generally optimistic about growth over the next six months.
The index dropped from its previous 22.5, down to 15.2 in this report. A reading above 0 indicates growth.
The index has now remained positive for five consecutive months.
“According to respondents to the January Business Outlook Survey, manufacturing activity is still rising, even though some measures fell back somewhat from their readings at year-end. Special questions corroborated reported improvement in demand for manufactured goods in recent months. Firms expect continued growth over the first half of 2010, and most indicators for future growth showed improvement this month.”
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
This helped the S&P to open positive, but it was not enough and US stocks have since stumbled. US earnings season, the worry of US banking reforms, and China tightening are dragging the markets lower. The USD and JPY are making further gains across the board as the correction is continuing.
