10:11 AM EDT, 05/01/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index was unchanged in April from the 52.7 reading in March, below the expectations for a 53.2 reading in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:40 am ET.

There were gains in the readings for new orders and prices, but declines in production, employment and order backlogs.

Other regional manufacturing sector readings have been generally positive, with exception of the Dallas and Chicago regions.

The monthly national manufacturing reading from the Institute for Supply Management is reported as a headline index, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 indicating contraction. Component indexes measure new orders, production, employment, and prices.

An increase in the index further above 50 is considered a sign of a strong US manufacturing sector, generally a positive for manufacturing industry stocks. However, if that strength comes with rising input prices due to shortages, that could be a negative for stocks as well as bonds.