Service Industries in U S Expand at Fastest Pace on Record yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Provided by Dow Jones By Xavier Fontdegloria Growth in the U.S. services sector business activity accelerated significantly in March to an all-time high, retracing the weather-related weakness in the prior month and signaling a strong recovery in industries that have been most hit by pandemic disruptions. The ISM Services Report on Business PMI increased to 63.7 in March from 55.3 in February, data from a survey compiled by the Institute for Supply Management showed Monday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the PMI to stand at 59.2, well above the 50 point break-even point that separates expansion over contraction. Respondents comments indicate that the lifting of coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions has released pent-up demand for many of their respective companies services, said Anthony Nieves, chair of the ISM Services Business Survey Committee.
Dow, S&P 500 Set New Record Closing Highs On Strong Economic Data
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks showed a significant move to the upside during trading on Monday as trading resumed following the long holiday weekend. With the upward move on the day, the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.
The major averages all closed firmly in positive territory. The Dow jumped 373.98 points or 1.1 percent to 33,527.19, the Nasdaq spiked 225.49 points or 1.7 percent to 13,705.59 and the S&P 500 surged up 58.04 points or 1.4 percent to 4,077.91.
The rally on Wall Street came as traders finally had an opportunity to react to the monthly jobs report, which was released while the markets were closed on Friday.
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Economic activity in the services sector continued to grow in February, according to the latest Services ISM Report on Business. The services PMI formerly known as the Non-Manufacturing NMI was 55.3% last month, according to the report.
The February number was 3.4 percentage points lower than the January rate of 58.7%. But February’s reading still represents growth in the services sector because any number above 50 indicates expansion. The number represents the ninth straight month of growth after a contraction in the spring because of the Covid crisis.
“The composite index indicated growth for the ninth consecutive month after a two-month contraction in April and May,” Anthony Nieves, the Chair of the ISM Services Business Survey Committee, said in a press release. “There was a pullback in the rate of growth in the services sector in February. Respondents are mostly optimistic about business recovery and the economy. Production-cap