Wall Street Journal (05/05/15) Kathleen Madigan

The Institute for Supply Management’s nonmanufacturing purchasing managers index increased to 57.8 in April from 56.5 the month before and was higher than the 56.3 forecast by experts polled by the Wall Street Journal. New orders rose to 59.2 in April from 57.8 in March, and the export index dropped to 48.5 from 59.0. The business activity and production index increased to 61.6 from 57.5.

In contrast, Markit’s service-sector composite slowed to 57.4 from 59.2 in March, though the April index was above the first-quarter average of 56.8, and the employment index was at a 10-month high.