That question will be answered when the April Markit PMI is released at 1345 GMT (9:45 am ET).
The Markit data was once relegated to the back pages but it’s an important indicator and it doesn’t have to share the spotlight today.
The consensus is for an improvement to 56.0 from 55.5. That kind of reading would underscore a solid start to the year.
Markit PMI
One spot that could be helping manufacturing, especially manufacturing exports, is China. Corporate earnings from GM, Coca-Cola, United Technologies, Yahoo and McDonald’s all noted strong demand from China.
Most economists have dismissed China this year or have spent the past few months fretting about a slowdown but companies aren’t seeing a slowdown, just the opposite.
