Ahead Of The Bell: ISM Service Sector Index

NEW YORK (AP) — Economists expect a trade group's measure of the health of the U.S. services sector to contract for the eighth straight month in May, but at the slowest pace since September.

The Institute for Supply Management's services index likely registered a 45 in May, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. That would be the highest level since September, when the index was at 50 and up from 43.7 in April.

Still, any reading below 50 indicates the services sector is shrinking. Service industries such as retailers, financial services, transportation and health care make up about 70 percent of the country's economic activity. ...