Durable Goods Orders Were Weak

Nondefense capital goods (or capex orders) fell by 0.4%.

Both numbers are below expectations.

Expectations were for orders to increase by 3.0%, and for core capex orders to increase by 1.0%.

"...durable goods bookings and consumer spending in November are expected to best consensus expectations," writes Societe Generale's Michala Marcussen.

In October, durable goods orders unexpectedly increased by 0.4%, which was better than the 0.6% decline expected by economists. However, core capex orders - which are an indicator of business spending - unexpectedly fell 1.3%. Economists had forecast a 1.0% increase.