Factories expand a third straight month
WASHINGTON — American factories expanded for the third straight month in November, another good sign for the American economy.
The Institute for Supply Management says its manufacturing index came in at 53.2 last month, up from 51.9 in October and highest since June. Anything over 50 signals growth.
New orders and production grew faster in November. Hiring and export orders increased but more slowly than they did in October. Eleven of 18 manufacturing industries reported growth last month, led by petroleum and coal producers.
On Wall Street, technology companies plunged Thursday, and highdividend stocks also took hefty losses as bond yields rose to their highest level in more than a year. But more big gains for bluechip banking and oil stocks pulled the Dow Jones industrial average to a record high.
Big names like Facebook and Oracle fell as technology companies took their biggest losses in two months.
Banks continued to soar as investors expect them to make bigger profits on loans as interest rates rise. Oil prices climbed for the second day after the members of OPEC agreed to trim oil production next year.
Karyn Cavanaugh, senior market strategist for Voya Investment Strategies, said a focus on President-elect Donald Trump’s trade policies might be hurting technology stocks.
Trump on Thursday toured a Carrier factory in Indiana after announcing the company will keep some operations at the facility instead of moving them to Mexico. He warned of consequences for companies that send jobs out of the country.
“If you’re going to bring jobs back to America and make stuff here, tech is going to be pretty vulnerable,” she said. “If there’s going to be a trade war, tech is pretty vulnerable.”