Leading Economic Indicators Come In At Low End Of Expectations

Building permits, which are volatile month-to-month, often prove to be the swing component for the index of leading economic indicators which, pulled down by weakness in Tuesday's permits data of the housing starts report, came in at the low end of expectations at minus 0.2 percent for September. Losses in the stock market were a negative for September as they were for August. Manufacturing components were mostly soft. Pluses were led, as they often are, by the report's interest rate component that reflects the Fed's accommodative policy. Today's results are not a positive for the outlook on growth which the report pegs at a moderate 2.5 percent trend.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
Held down by factory components and lower stock prices, the index of leading economic indicators has been flat the past two reports and isn't expected to bounce back at all in September, at a consensus of no change.