Manufacturing activity in the U.S. accelerated in December data on Tuesday showed
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of manufacturing activity rose to 54.7 from 53.2 in November
The reading easily exceeded economists’ expectation of a level of 53.6
A reading above 50 indicates sector expansion
The new orders index rose by 7.2 points to 60.2
The employment index rose by 0.8 points to 53.1