Industrials Down Ahead Of Fed Minutes -- Industrials Roundup

Shares of manufacturing and transportation companies fell slightly as traders hedged their bets on cyclical stocks ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes.

The general business conditions component of the Empire State manufacturing index, a measure of factory activity in New York state rose, to the highest level since September 2014.

Analysts at brokerage Goldman Sachs collated notes from corporate conference calls during earnings season and discovered that most executives remain optimistic about the outlook for growth. "Managers remain optimistic that the Trump Administration's platform of deregulation, tax reform, and infrastructure spending will eventually boost economic growth," said the Goldman Sachs analysts, in a note to clients. "But most executives note that they haven't seen an appreciable increase in customer activity despite improving sentiment." So far, most of the claims of improved demand are anecdotal, the Goldman analysts said.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 15, 2017 16:43 ET (20:43 GMT)