New orders for manufactured durable goods in April decreased $4.2 billion or 1.7% to $248.5 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced. This decrease, down following two consecutive monthly increases, followed a 2.7% March increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.9%. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 1.9%. Transportation equipment, also down following two consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease, falling $5.6 billion or 6.1% to $87.1 billion.

THE ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Today, the Conference Board will release its Consumer Confidence Index for May. Thursday, the Labor Department will issue its initial claims report. Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will reveal the unemployment rate for May, and the Census Bureau will report about construction spending for April.

Friday, the Dow closed 58.67 points (0.24%) lower at 24,753.09, the NASDAQ increased 9.43 points (0.13%) to 7,433.85, and the S&P 500 decreased 6.43 points (0.24%) to 2,721.33. The Russell 2000 was down 1.29 points (0.08%) at 1,626.93, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 55.61 points (0.20%) lower at 28,335.52.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note increased 14/32, bringing its yield down to 2.928%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond climbed 21/32, decreasing its yield to 3.090%.

WEEK’S WORTH: For the week ending May 25, the Dow increased 0.15%, the NASDAQ climbed 1.08%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.31%. The Russell 2000 was up 0.02%, and the Wilshire 5000 finished 0.24% higher.

ON THIS DATE: In 1721, South Carolina was formally incorporated as a royal colony. In 1790, Rhode Island became the last of the original thirteen colonies to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state to join the United States. In 1916, the official flag of the president of the United States was adopted. In 1932, World War I veterans began arriving in Washington, D.C., to demand cash bonuses they were not scheduled to receive for another 13 years. In 1951, C.F. Blair became the first man to fly over the North Pole in single engine plane. In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first men to reach the top of Mount Everest. In 1962, Buck (John) O’Neil became the first black coach in major league baseball when he accepted the job with the Chicago Cubs. In 1986, Colonel Oliver North told National Security Advisor William McFarlane that profits from weapons sold to Iran were being diverted to the Contras. In 2001, in New York, four followers of Osama bin Laden were convicted of a global conspiracy to murder Americans. The crimes included the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa that killed 224 people. In 2015, the Obama adminstration removed Cuba from the U.S. terrorism blacklist. The two countries had severed diplomatic relations in January of 1961.