US district Fed factory gauges expected to improve in October

Canvasses of local firms conducted by the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and Philadelphia will provide early glimpses at factory activity in October. The net percentage of respondents noting that business was weaker than in September is expected to narrow in both regional surveys. 

The general business conditions gauge in the Empire State Manufacturing Survey likely improved by 7.2 percentage points to -7.5%, while the contractionary reading in the Philadelphia Outlook Survey was halved to -3.0%. Taken together, the anticipated October "improvements" would be consistent with the ISM Purchasing Managers' Index climbing modestly to 50.8 this month.