Daily Rundown
- Chief Strategist, Bryan Jordan CFA
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
March 3, 2026
Chart of the Day
Number of the Day
70.5 - The ISM manufacturing prices paid index in February, up from 59.0 in the prior month and the highest since mid-2022
Quote of the Day
"Business is improving by the week. Backlog is growing, and new opportunities are everywhere. Monthly shipments are still lower than planned, but improving." - Respondent to the February ISM manufacturing survey
Monday's Highlight
The ISM manufacturing index (February) slipped to 52.4 from a prior 52.6. The new orders and production components were in solid expansion while employment continued to contract.
Quick Commentary
Thanks to fiscal stimulus, the capex boom, and a low bar after years of contraction, the factory sector looks to be finally back in an uptrend. Yesterday's ISM report, in fact, marked the first back-to-back expansionary readings in the headline index in more than three years. There are still underlying risks, as reflected in the continued softness in the employment index and the resurgence in the price paid index (with the latter likely to be exacerbated for a time by the war in the Middle East), but the near-term growth outlook is at least temporarily pointed upward.
Today's Highlights
Best Buy earnings
Target earnings
Daily Trivia
Which chair of the Council of Economic Advisers brought a bestselling novelist to his swearing-in ceremony?
(Monday's Question: What country attempted to join OPEC in 2004 after making several major offshore oil discoveries, but was denied because it was not yet a sufficiently large net exporter? Answer: Brazil)