Durable goods orders fall
WASHINGTON — U.S. orders for long-lasting manufactured goods dropped in April for the first time in five months, and a key category that tracks business investment went nowhere for the second straight month.
The Commerce Department said Friday that durable goods orders fell 0.7 percent in April after rising 2.3 percent in March. The April downturn was the first since durable goods orders fell 4.6 percent in November.
Despite the April drop, American manufacturing has bounced back in recent months from a slump early last year.
Orders for transportation equipment fell 1.2 percent last month, pulled down by a 9.2 percent drop in the volatile commercial aircraft category. Military aircraft orders jumped 7.1 percent. But orders for cars, trucks and auto parts rose 0.3 percent last month after falling in February and March.
Orders for capital goods, excluding aircraft and military equipment, were flat for the second straight month — potentially worrisome because that category offers clues about where business investment is headed.
Still, the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, reported earlier this month that its manufacturing index showed U.S. factories expanding in April for the eighth straight month.
Durable goods, ranging from refrigerators to battleships, are items meant to last at least three years..
On Wall Street Friday, stocks made the tiniest of gains as media companies and sellers of beauty products and food ticked higher.
The VIX, an index that is called Wall Street’s “fear gauge” because it measures how much volatility investors expect, fell for the seventh day in a row.
After a huge spike last week, the 27-year-old index is trading near all-time lows.