U.S. May leading economic indicators down 0.5%

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. index of leading economic indicators fell 0.5% in May, the Conference Board said Monday. Nine out of the ten leading indicators fell in May. The drop was larger expected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists had expected a 0.2 percent fall. This is the fifth straight month without an increase in the leading index. In April, the index was revised to show no change compared with the initial estimate of a 0.2% decline. The coincident index rose 0.2%, while the lagging index rose 0.3%.