Economic indicators

Construction spending saw a 0.1% increase in February, below expectations for a 0.5% gain, due to public construction falling 2.1%.

The overall economy grew for the 107th straight time, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday.

The University of Michigan's final March consumer sentiment index reading was 101.4, compared to the preliminary March 102.0, and the final February 99.7, according to market sources.

The MNI Chicago Business Barometer followed up declines in both January and February with a hefty 4.5 drop in March, ending the first quarter of 2018 at 57.4.

Consumer spending rose 0.2% in February while personal income gained 0.4%, the Commerce Department said.

Initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level since January 1973.

Pending home sales gained 3.1% to an index reading of 107.5 in February, from a downwardly revised 5.0% decline to 104.3 in January.

The price measures were generally unrevised, so the market reaction to the upward revision to fourth quarter growth is likely to be muted.

Texas service sector activity “activity picked up in March,” according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index increased to 19.3 from 13.2.

The consumer confidence index decreased to 127.7 in March from a revised 130.0 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

Service sector companies “expanded moderately in March,” according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

Manufacturing growth in the central Atlantic region was “expanded at a slower pace in March.”

Home prices rose 6.2% on an annual basis in January, not seasonally adjusted, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, released Tuesday.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, “continued to expand in March, albeit at a markedly slower pace than last month.”

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for February increased to 0.88 from a downwardly revised 0.02 in January.

New single-family home sales pace slowed down slightly by 0.6% to 618,000, following sharp upward revisions to January, December, and November.

The value of U.S. durable goods new orders surged 3.1% in February, much stronger than the 1.7% increase expected by analysts in an MNI survey.

Respondents to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's monthly manufacturing survey reported high input and selling prices, suggesting growing inflation.

The composite of the Leading Economic Index was up 0.6% in February following a downwardly revised 0.8% increase in January, the Conference Board said Thursday.

Initial jobless claims rose 3,000 to 229,000 in the week ended March 17, the Labor Department said Thursday.