Optimism over US economic growth remains strong after three meaningful economic reports were released today

Optimism over US economic growth remains strong after three meaningful economic reports were released today. Consumer spending jumped 0.9% last month, the largest gain since August 2009. What's more, personal incomes increased the most in seven months. Meanwhile, the ISM Manufacturing Index rose to 54.9, the strongest reading of the year so far. That's up from 53.7 in March. For both consumer spending and manufacturing increases, one of the key drivers of growth has been automobile purchases. The one negative report came in the form of initial jobless claims, which climbed to a 9-week high of 344,000. Bloomberg's median forecast called for 320,000. However, the 4-week moving average for claims only increased by 3,000. For the moment, there aren't any red flags when to comes to the labor market. Overall, the economy continues to show improvement across the board.. (VIEW LINK) (VIEW LINK)