US manufacturing activity firmed in July, Empire state survey shows

Manufacturing activity Stateside picked up slightly in July, a leading indicator for activity in the sector showed.

The Federal Reserve bank of New York’s manufacturing sector gauge rose to a reading of 3.9 for July after a print of -2 in the month before.

Analysts had been anticipating a reading of 3.3.

The data was released ahead of the Federal Reserve bank of Philadelphia’s gauge of activity in its own jurisdiction due out on Thursday.

"Given that we do not see much meaningful improvement in the details of this morning’s release relative to June, we look to tomorrow’s Philly Fed manufacturing index for a better read on regional manufacturing activity at the start of the third quarter," analysts at Barclays said in a note.