New York manufacturing at 5-month low

A barometer of New York City business activity hit a five-month low in March, the Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday. The headline index measuring current business conditions came in at 51.2 for the month, a 7.7-point drop from February. The six-month outlook index showed there is still optimism left in the Big Apple, as the index that measures what respondents expect in the medium term rose to a three-month high to 65.2. In addition, the employment index rose to its highest reading since May 2011 with a jump from 49.3 in February, which shows employment shrinking, to 57.3, which is above the break-even point of 50 and shows employment expanding. The manufacturing index for the city had been on a seven-month trend higher, with the exception of November, when the area was recovering from Hurricane Sandy.