Leading Indicators Rise

The Conference Board's Leading Indicators Index increased 1.4 percent in March. Analysts had expected a 1.0 percent rise in March.

The biggest contributors to the index's gain were the manufacturing work week, which increased to 41.0 hours from 40.5 hours. The interest rate spread tightened to 3.54% from 3.56%.

Three of the ten components of the index declined during the month: non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, money supply, and consumer expectations.

The coincident index, which measures current economic conditions, rose 0.1 percent in March after a 0.1 percent gain the prior month.