The report on the July ISM manufacturing index rose to 48.9 from 44.6. This is very bullish as it came in above Wall Street’s consensus of 46.5. The ISM is now at its highest reading since Lehman Brothers blew up.
What’s especially good is the new orders index. I also like the fact that all five components of the index are rising. It appears that businesses are now scrambling to rebuild their inventories.