New orders for manufactured durable goods in April decreased $1.6 billion or 0.7% to $231.2 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced. This decrease, down following four consecutive monthly increases, followed a 2.3% March increase. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.4%. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 0.8%. Transportation equipment, down following two consecutive monthly increases, led the decrease, declining $1.0 billion or 1.2% to $78.5 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, and the Census Bureau will report about construction spending in April. Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will reveal the unemployment rate for May.

Friday, the Dow was down 2.67 points (0.01%) at 21,080.28, the NASDAQ was up 4.94 points (0.08%) at 6,210.19, and the S&P 500 was virtually unchanged at 2,415.82. The Russell 2000 decreased by 1.14 (0.08%) to finish at 1,382.24, and the Wilshire 5000 increased by 1.88 (0.01%) to finish at 25,107.11.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 3/32, decreasing its yield to 2.247%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 4/32, bringing its yield down to 2.914%.

WEEK’S WORTH: For the week ending May 26, the Dow increased 1.32%, the NASDAQ climbed 2.08%, and the S&P 500 gained 1.43%. The Russell 2000 was up 1.09%, and the Wilshire 5000 finished 1.39% higher.

ON THIS DATE: In 1539, Hernando de Soto, the Spanish explorer, landed in Florida with 600 soldiers to search for gold. In 1783, the first daily newspaper was published in the U.S. by Benjamin Towner called “The Pennsylvania Evening Post.” In 1854, the U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas were established. In 1868, Memorial Day was observed widely for the first time in the U.S. In 1879, William Vanderbilt renamed New York City’s Gilmore’s Garden to Madison Square Garden. In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. In 1958, unidentified soldiers killed in World War II and the Korean conflicts were buried at Arlington National Cemetery. In 1971, Mariner 9, the American deep space probe blasted off on a journey to Mars. In 2002, in New York, a ceremony was held to officially mark the end of the clean-up from the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. In 2012, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the Portion Cap Rule. The proposed amendment to the city health code would have required that food service establishments limit the size of sugary beverages to 16 ounces. Later, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the New York City Board of Health had exceeded the scope of its regulatory authority.