New Orders is one of the most important macroeconomic indicators to track for measuring the health of the economy and, thus, the stock market. Almost all recessions in the U.S. economy have been preceded by a dip in the new orders data series. Financial market pundits believe that the decline in indicators such as Housing, New Orders, Profits, and Employment can be considered a forewarning for any recession in the U.S. economy. 

This visualisation, by default, shows the new orders relative to S&P 500. Separate data series are displayed for new orders of durable goods, consumer goods and total manufacturing. Other macroeconomic indicators related to the new orders or other assets, such as stocks, can be selected in the primary and secondary indexes to understand their relationship. This data series is provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and gathered as part of economic surveys conducted by the Census Bureau.

Key Takeaways

A data-driven investor can track changes in indicators such as new orders to position their bets to maximise gains at acceptable risks.