"October was a sub-par month for economic growth based on the Chicago Fed's national activity index which fell to minus 0.56 from zero in September. The production component fell to minus 0.45 from September's minus 0.06 reflecting Hurricane Sandy's big hit to the industrial production report. The component for consumption & housing, dragged down by a decline in housing permits, fell to minus 0.19 from minus 0.17.
The report's other two components made positive contributions to the index but to a lower degree. Employment contributed plus 0.07 to the index, down from plus 0.13 in September, while sales/orders/inventories contributed plus 0.01 from the prior month's plus 0.10.
The three-month average fell to minus 0.56 in October (the same as the single month reading) from minus 0.36 in September for the eighth straight month below zero. A reading below zero suggests that growth in national economic activity is below historical trend."
Also released today was the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey, which shows that the Business Activity Index dropped from 1.8 to -2.8 and that the Production Index dropped from 7.9 to 1.7, as shown below.
An hour after the open, the Major Indices are, basically, consolidating after last week's rally, slightly below Friday's close.