India, March 5 -- The Institute for Supply Management released a report on Wednesday showing an unexpected uptick by its reading on U.S. service sector activity in the month of February.
The ISM said its services PMI inched up to 53.5 in February from 52.8 in January, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 52.6.
The modest increase by the headline partly reflected faster growth by new orders, as the new orders index rose to 52.2 in February from 51.3 in January.
The employment index also climbed to 53.9 in February from 52.3 in January, indicating modestly faster job growth in the service sector. The supplier deliveries index also crept up to 53.4 in February from 53.0 in January.
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