Bloomberg News/Landov
Smoke rises from a refinery at sunset in Philadelphia.
The numbers: The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index in February dropped sharply into negative territory. The index fell to a seasonally adjusted reading of -4.1 from 17 in the prior month. This is the first negative reading since May 2016.
Any reading below zero indicates worsening conditions. Economists polled by Econoday expected a reading of 14.
What happened: Below the headline, the indexes for new orders and shipments dropped sharply into negative territory. The employment indicator remained positive. Firms were generally optimistic about the outlook for the next six months.
The big picture: The sharp drop fits with other manufacturing data suggesting the U.S. is now succumbing to the global industrial downturn. The Empire State index rebounded in February but remained close to a two-year low.
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.24% was set to open lower Thursday but the index is up more than 19% from its 52-week low hit on Dec. 24.
