U.S. markets received dribs and drabs of economic data this morning, the majority of it positive for economic recovery there.

U.S. factory orders for April were up 1.2%, which RBC Financial says is much stronger than the consensus call for a 0.7% gain. New orders rose 1.2% and shipments increased by 2.4% while inventories continued to decline by 0.2%.

Also, the Chicago purchasing manager’s index for May soared to a reading of 60 which was well above consensus expectations and indicating a strong expansion of manufacturing activity.

First quarter U.S. productivity was revised from 8.6% growth to 8.4%. But, RBC says, “Productivity growth is still on a tear in the U.S. economy, as businesses ramped up output by 6.1% by using less labour input as hours worked declined by 2.1%. Unit labour costs therefore declined sharply by 5.2% as a significant offset to the threat of building inflationary pressures stateside. This is positive for corporate profits.”

Finally, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index was revised upward for May to a reading of 96.9 from 96.0 and up from 93.0 in April. “This is the strongest reading for consumer confidence since the end of 2000 as the assessment of both current conditions and future expectations improved,” says RBC.