- Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc.
Business activity in the U.S. Midwest shrank for the second consecutive month in October, a sign the recovery in manufacturing sector is losing steam. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago said its gauge of manufacturing activity improved to 49.9 from 49.7 in September, while still remains in negative zone. A reading of 50 is the dividing line between expansion of the sector and its contraction. At the same time, the forward-looking new orders index jumped to 50.6, up from 47.4.
"The manufacturing sector is struggling," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida, who forecast a reading of 49.4. "You've got global weakness which is hurting exports. You've got uncertainty with the fiscal cliff, which may keep people cautious."
"There's just a great deal of uncertainty and there's not a lot of demand," said Stephen Roell, president and chief executive officer of Johnson Controls Inc., an automotive and building supplier in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "I mean, there's not a lot of growth in the underlying economy."
The Standard & Poor's 500 added 0.02 per cent to 1,412.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.08 per cent to 13,096.46. The Nasdaq Composite decreased 0.36 per cent to 2,977.23.
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