Housing Market Holds Up

Housing Market Holds Up

U.S. manufacturing growth eased in September to its slowest in more than a year, but home sales and construction figures suggested a less abrupt decline in the housing sector than many experts had foreseen.

A weakening industrial sector could spell bad news for the economy as a whole, however, since economists had been counting on business investment to cushion some of the blow from a housing-related drop in consumer spending.

The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index fell to 52.9 in September, its lowest since May 2005. That was down from 54.5 in August and modestly beneath a median Wall Street forecast of 53.5. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion.

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