Two S&P surveys found that the U.S. economy got off to a good start in the fourth quarter and was on track for steady growth at the end of the year.
The S&P U.S. services index of buying managers went from 55.2 in September to 55.3 in October, which was up a small amount. Numbers above 50 mean growth, and numbers above 55 are very high.
Many Americans work in service-based businesses like banks, stores, restaurants, and others. These businesses have been the main driver of growth since the outbreak.
Even though the preliminary U.S. factory PMI stayed in the red, it slowly rose from 47.3 in September to 47.8 in October, which was the highest level in two months.
These days, manufacturers make up a smaller part of the economy, and they’ve been in a slump for a long time because of high interest rates and changes in how people spend their money.
The first thing that shows each month how well the U.S. economy is doing is the S&P polls.
Purchasing managers get things for their businesses. When things are going well, they buy more. When things are going badly, they buy less.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -0.23% went down while the S&P 500 SPX 0.17% went up.
