Wall Street Pump & Valve Industry Watch, August 2015

　　The Jordan, Knauff & Company (JKC) Valve Stock Index was down 21.5 percent over the last 12 months, while the broader S&P 500 Index was up 4.5 percent. The JKC Pump Stock Index also decreased 22.4 percent for the same time period.

　　The Institute for Supply Management's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 53.5 percent for the month of June compared with 52.8 percent in May. The Employment Index rose 3.8 percent to 55.5 percent for the month, while the New Orders Index grew to 56 percent from 55.8 percent in May. The overall PMI has averaged 52.6 percent through the first half of the year, less than the average of 56.9 percent seen in the second half of 2014. The Production Index averaged 61.6 percent in the second half of last year while averaging only 54.8 percent during the first quarter of this year.

　　As of last year, only four countries were producing commercial volumes of either crude oil from tight formations or natural gas from shale formations according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration and Advanced Resources International Inc. Along with the U.S. and Canada, Argentina and China have recently begun production of this type. Other countries that have started to explore shale and tight oil but are still short of reaching commercial production include Mexico, Poland, Algeria, Australia, Colombia and Russia.

　　On Wall Street, all indices were down for the month of June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.2 percent, the S&P 500 Index was down 2.1 percent, and the NASDAQ Composite declined 1.6 percent. For the second quarter of the year, the Dow declined 0.2 percent and the S&P 500 lost 0.9 percent, while the NASDAQ gained 1.8 percent. Concerns about Greece\'92s bailout program and referendum on whether to accept terms demanded by its creditors affected investors. Despite a rise in consumer spending, upbeat housing data and encouraging retail sales, the Federal Reserve Bank indicated it will increase interest rates at a slower pace than it expected earlier this year.