The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. increased 0.4 percent in April to 109.4 following a 0.4 percent increase in March, and a 0.7 percent increase in February.

Researchers said the results point to continued, though moderating, growth in the United States for the second half of 2018.

“April’s increase and continued uptrend in the U.S. LEI suggest solid growth should continue in the second half of 2018. However, the LEI’s six-month growth rate has recently moderated somewhat, suggesting growth is unlikely to strongly accelerate,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business cycles and growth research at The Conference Board. “In April, stock prices and housing permits were the only negative contributors, whereas the labor market components, which made negative contributions in March, improved.”