September ISM services index at 55.1 vs. 53.7

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
The Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday said its services index rose to 55.1 in September from 53.7 in August
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected the index to hold steady at 53
Any reading over 50 indicates more companies are expanding instead of contracting
The new-orders index, a sign of future demand, jumped 4.0 percentage points to 57.7, the highest reading since March
The inventories gauge fell to 48.5 from 52.5, while the prices index climbed to 68.1 from 64.3
That's the highest since February