Last month the ISM index relating to the services sector in the United States rose to 55,2 points, from 53,1 in March. Analysts had expected a more contained rise, to 54,1 points. The data therefore beat the estimates, further detaching the fateful threshold of 50 points, which marks the border between expansion and contraction.
As for the individual components, that on business performance rose from 53,4 to 60,9 points, while that on employment fell from 53,6 to 51,3 points and that on prices increased from 58,3 points to 60,8. The component relating to new orders went from 53,4 to 58,2 points. The data is calculated by the Institute for Supply Management.
The surveys on the ISM index have caused Wall Street to change course, which after a start in the red has begun an attempt to rebound: about an hour and a half after the start of trading, the Dow and the S&P 500 are moving around parity , to 16.502 points and 1.881 points respectively, while the Nasdaq instead rose by 0,12% to 4.128 points.
