A gauge of US business investment spending plans increased solidly for a second straight month in April, a hopeful sign for manufacturing activity after a long spell of weakness.
The overall economy is gradually firming, with other reports on Tuesday showing consumer confidence perking up this month and house prices extending gains in March, which should boost household equity and support consumer spending.
The Commerce Department said non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rose 1.0 per cent last month after an upwardly revised 1.5 per cent increase in March.
The so-called core capital goods orders were previously reported to have increased 0.6 per cent in March.
In a separate report, the Conference Board said its index of consumer attitudes rose to 95.4 this month from 94.3 in April. In another report the Commerce Department said new home sales increased 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000 units.
