Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index rises slightly

The economic activity in Texas' manufacturing sector expanded modestly in February with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey's headline General Business Activity Index edging up to 1.2 from -0.2. This reading, however, came in worse than the market expectation of 11.8.

"The new orders index fell nine points to 8.4, down from a 15-month high in January but still slightly above average," the publication read. "Expectations regarding future business conditions were slightly more optimistic in February. The indexes of future general business activity and future company outlook moved up to 18.0 and 24.1, respectively."