Orders for manufactured goods fell 0.4% in December, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The decline was in line with forecasts of economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal.
Factory orders had risen for seven straight months, including a revised 1.8% gain in November.
Durable-goods orders fell a revised 0.7%, slightly stronger than the initial estimate of a 0.9% decline. Orders for nondurable goods were down 0.2% in the month.
Orders for nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft rose a revised 0.3% in December, up slightly from the prior unchanged reading.
U.S. stocks
DJIA,
SPX,
were sharply lower Thursday on disappointing earnings reports.
