The Conference Board's index of leading indicators suggest "solid and broad-based" strength in May

Strength is solid and broad-based in the index of leading economic indicators which rose 0.5 percent in May, accelerating from a revised 0.3 percent gain in April. The yield spread, reflecting the Fed's near zero rate policy, once again is the leading component by a wide margin. But there are still solid positives for jobless claims, which point to improvement in the labor market, and the factory workweek, which point to gains for income and output. The report's leading credit index is also solid pointing to improved lending strength.

A negative in the report, however, is weakness in building permits in what points to continuing struggles for the housing sector. Other details in today's report include a surprisingly slow back-to-back rise of 0.1 percent for the coincident index, marginal gains that are not consistent with strong expectations for second-quarter GDP growth. The lagging index is steady for a second month at a modest plus 0.2 percent.