Wednesday's economic reports show that the outlook for the euro area economy remains weak. While industrial orders rose 1.9 percent in December, the flash reading of Markit's manufacturing PMI rose to just 49.0 in February from 48.8 in January, indicating that the sector remained in contraction. With the services PMI falling to 49.4 in February from 50.4 in January, the composite index also fell to 49.7 from 50.4.
China's manufacturing showed greater improvement but also probably continued to shrink in February. The preliminary reading of HSBC's manufacturing PMI rose to 49.7 in February from 48.8 in January.
As usual, the US economy stood out on Wednesday with positive data. Existing home sales jumped 4.3 percent in January to the highest level since May 2010.
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